A WEST Kilbride worthy who ran a popular pottery shop in the village has passed away at the age of 93.

Molly Blyth was a local for almost all of her life before ill-health saw her move into a care home on the east coast.

The pensioner's love of painting, photography and pottery saw her start up the Yerton Pottery in the old West Kilbride Post Office.

She was very interested in local history and published a book of photographs of "Old West Kilbride" and helped launch the West Kilbride Museum.

Molly was born in July 1928 in Glasgow, the only child of Thomas Laidlaw and Margaret Dunlop.

When still a baby the family moved to West Kilbride to live in her grandmother’s house, Aiknut, in Bowfield Road.

She started at the Glasgow School of Art when 16, studying fabric design, printing and embroidery, and once qualified, secured a job teaching art in Ardrossan.

Molly enjoyed tennis and golf, which is how she met her future husband George Blyth, who used to come through to West Kilbride from Edinburgh with the Boys' Brigade.

They married on June 3 1950 and lived in Edinburgh for six years.

In 1958 they left the east to move back over to West Kilbride, moving to ‘Parkgrove’, in South Road.

The happy couple had three children – Irene Margaret, Julia Marie (Julie) then Michael George Scott.

George founded the well known Dunlop and Blyth’s shop which sold stationery, books, toys, tobacco, fancy goods and even had a small lending library, as well as a neighbouring toy shop in the 1980s.

Molly became interested in pottery in the 1960s and started selling pottery items in D&Bs.

They earned enough to rent a shop in the village which in turn led them to buying their own premises - the old Post Office at 23 Ritchie Street.

They both had a very good business sense and attracted customers from all over Ayrshire, with the goods sold in the shop until it closed in 1999.

Molly had various hobbies during her life - painting in oils, pottery, jewellery making and photography, and won several awards in the local photography club.

She even received an award for photographic merit with letters after her name - CPAGB - after gaining the credit award from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.

George passed away in 2016 of pancreatic cancer but Molly remained at home in West Kilbride, despite some falls and catching coronavirus, until May when she had yet another stay in hospital and was moved in July to a nursing home in Linlithgow, where she slipped away last week.

The family would like to thank everyone who has been involved in Molly's care prior to her passing.

Molly leaves her three children, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

A funeral service for Molly will take place in West Kilbride Parish Church, and later at West Kilbride Cemetery on August 13.