Elderly lady heartened by kind public after fall

Gonville resident Betty Murphy has had her faith in people restored after being inundated with offers of help when she took a fall in Victoria Ave.

Last Friday, 71-year-old Mrs Murphy was shopping for an outfit for a Melbourne Cup function when she suddenly lost her footing on the pavement outside Farmers and tripped over, landing on the side of her face.

And while the incident - which left her with facial cuts and bruises and a broken wrist - shocked Mrs Murphy, what surprised her even more was the kindness of the strangers who came to her aid.

"A woman mopped up the blood on my face with her hanky, someone else offered water, someone came out of Farmers with a duvet to wrap me in, and someone phoned an ambulance.

"Even some teenage girls with ice-creams came over to see if they could do anything to help," Mrs Murphy said.

As Mrs Murphy was put in the ambulance, a woman offered to take her car back to her house. In her sorry state, Mrs Murphy handed over her keys to the woman and said it didn't occur to her till later that the woman might not be trustworthy.

However, the woman returned the car, put it in Mrs Murphy's garage, pushed closed an open window in the house and tracked Mrs Murphy down in the hospital to return her keys.

It was only then Mrs Murphy realised the woman was a Wanganui District Council parking warden.

Recovering at home and struggling with everyday tasks due to her broken wrist, Mrs Murphy is still thankful for the kindness shown to her.

"You read these horror stories about people who fall over and no-one comes to help - well, that certainly didn't happen to me."

Mrs Murphy said she would like to thank all those who came to her aid.

"I was amazed, really. It's restored my faith in humankind," she said.