AN ALVA woman who created a Bear Hunt to help local children and parents deal with the lockdown boredom has been "blown away" by the generosity of the Wee County.

Leigh Richardson decided to make discs for kids to find at Alva Glen at the beginning of January to help pass the time and burn the kids out.

The idea came with Leigh and her partner Timothy needing new ways to entertain their two-year-old son Ellis through the lockdown.

Asked how the Bear Hunt idea came to fruition, Leigh said: "Really just lockdown to be honest, there's so little to do for the kids.

"I know with us, our son's nearly three, he's missing out on a lot, there's not [things like] soft play to burn them out.

"It made sense, in my head, I think, because I think with kids, saying we'll go for a walk's just not appetizing at all, but if you say they're going to do something fun, it's not a walk, it's a wee adventure."

Leigh created a number of wooden discs to discover along Alva Glen, including Daddy, Mummy and Baby Bear and, fittingly, a mask-wearing Goldilocks.

Unfortunately, the discs started to disappear and Leigh considered stopping it all together.

She added: "There's so little to do just now for kids and it's just a little thing. I even put up a post to say if any kids want one, don't take them, message me and I'll make one.

"I'd rather that, I think around 32 are missing.

"I just thought, I'm on furlough at the moment, it's not as if I've got cash to be putting out for something that's going to have to [continuously] be replenished."

Leigh put up a Facebook post saying she was thinking about stopping it, but the response changed her mind.

She said: "I don't think I realised how much people appreciated it until I put that post up. Everybody was really upset at the prospect of it not continuing.

"I do it for the children but I think even just a walk is good for your mental health, it's good for the kids but it's great for the parents, and it doesn't cost anything which is a bonus."

People began commenting saying they'd be happy to give Leigh money to continue the Bear Hunt, and she originally wasn't sure how she felt about it.

However, she started a donations page and has been "blown away" by how generous people are being.

The Just Giving page asks for an amount and Leigh decided to set a target of £60, thinking it was ambitious.

However, the generosity of people making donations has saw her smash that target almost four times over, and she was shocked to see an anonymous donation of £100.

To every single person who has donated, Leigh said: "A massive thank you, it's just amazing. It's incredible."

Search Alva Bear Hunt on Facebook for more information or visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thealvabearhunt to make a donation.