A stitch in time

When 81-year-old Margaret Drysdale slipped outside her local convenience store in the village of East Whitburn in Scotland, she ended up with a nasty cut on her face.

Shaken, she struggled to get back on her feet. But luckily Bathgate postwoman, Shiree Townsley, was on hand to save the day.

Shiree helped Margaret to her feet, picked up her glasses and took her home. When they arrived at Margaret’s house, Shiree contacted a neighbour and asked them to get in touch with a family member.

Margaret’s daughter, Liz Swan, took the phone call. She said: ‘Shiree was very concerned about the amount of blood pouring down my mum’s face. I rushed away from work and took mum to A&E. She has stitches and is still in the hospital, but we hope she’ll make a full recovery.’

Shiree, who has worked at Royal Mail for three years, said: ‘It was my first day on that round, and I’d been speaking to someone just minutes before about how slippery it was with all the ice.

‘I turned the corner and saw Margaret on the ground. There was a lot of blood. She was in shock and was trembling. She kept telling me she was okay, but I could tell she wasn’t. I walked her home and she said she didn’t want to worry the family because they were all busy. I asked her neighbour to call someone and make sure she was looked after.’

Margaret’s daughter Liz added: ‘When I got back to my mum’s from the hospital, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Shiree there. The note apologised for bringing out a family member to my mum, but she did it because she didn't want to leave her on her own. It was a real act of kindness.

‘Seeing to my mum must have set her day back ages, but she still carried on. My family believe this lady deserves a pat on the back and huge recognition for what she did. She went more than a mile for us – she went 100! She was a real ambassador for Royal Mail that day.’