A Wirral nan who lost her purse in her local shop was "brought to tears" after a kind stranger insisted on paying for her shopping.
Irene Gouldson, 75, from Rock Ferry in Wirral had visited her local Lidl yesterday and was making her way around the shop when she realised she no longer had her purse.
The pensioner says she was in "quite a state and very upset" after realising her purse had gone and while staff were looking around the store for it, a woman standing near the tills insisted on paying for her shopping.
READ MORE: Mum slams M&S over 'offensive' name of £1 bakery treat
Irene says she wants to thank the woman for her kindness which "restored my faith in humanity" after her upsetting ordeal.
Her daughter, Jane, who lives in Australia posted in a local Facebook group about what happened to her mum yesterday afternoon, hoping to find out the identity of the stranger, so the family could offer their thanks and return the money she had paid for Irene's shopping.
Speaking to the ECHO about what happened, Irene, 75 said: "I'd only nipped in for some water.
"I'm quite disabled but took my purse in my hand and I went round the shop and I must have put it down somewhere
"I'd got really upset thought 'oh my god, my card, people only have to tap it now'.
"I was in quite a state, in a bit of a panic and very upset, I'd walked around the shop and couldn't walk anymore.
"Two of the girls were amazing, they were looking around the shop and I was standing there and this woman said 'what's gone on?' so I told her and she said 'I'll pay for the shopping.'
"I told her those was no need, it wasn't urgent but she insisted.
"I was crying even more then that some would do that, it just gives you faith for human nature."
Irene says that after she got home she spoke to her daughter while she was "upset and crying" with Jane later putting out a post on Facebook about the incident.
After phoning her bank to cancel the card, she got a call from a neighbour asking if she was okay.
Irene said: "I asked her 'did you see me walk in crying?' She said 'no, it's on Facebook'."
She says a short time later she received a call from staff at Lidl to say they'd found her purse, and she returned to the store today with a card to thank the staff who had been looking for it.
Irene said: "Apparently they'd been hunting round the store and gave everyone quite a shock when they shouted out all of a sudden 'I've found it.'
"I'm not sure if I dropped it because I didn't go down that aisle or what happened but I'm just so grateful for the lady who paid for my shopping and the staff in Lidl who were just amazing.
"I'd like to find her to thank her and return the money. She was very tall and pretty in her 20s with long dark hair. I just want to say thanks. She was so kind.
"It's the first time I've been shopping since shielding, it was quite a day."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
