FOUR Good Samaritans rescued an elderly woman in Newton Abbot on Monday last week.

Joyce Williams, 86, from Ashburton, was enjoying a shopping trip in Newton Abbot with her friend, Winifred Seabrook, 83. All went well until they headed for Matalan before catching the bus home. 'My friend went one way round a car as we crossed the road, and I went the other,' said Mrs Williams: 'I don't think I lifted my foot high enough at the edge of the pavement. The next thing I knew I had fallen on my face, bitten through my lip and I hurt all down my left side. It was so painful.' As Mrs Williams lay on the ground, unable to get up, three teenage girls rushed to help her. 'They knew just what to do,' said Mrs Williams. One of the girls checked Mrs Williams facial injuries, and another fetched help from a Matalan member of staff. They wanted to call an ambulance, but Mrs Williams refused to go to hospital, so they fetched a wheelchair and applied ice to her injuries before they helped her to her feet. They made her promise to see a doctor. 'They were so kind,' said Mrs Williams: 'I just want to say thank you to all the people who helped me.' Mrs Williams and Mrs Seabrook made their own way home by bus to the sheltered housing at Ashburn Gardens. 'My grandson was cross when he heard,' said Mrs Williams: 'He said I should have called him and he would have come to collect us in the car, but I didn't want any fuss.' By Tuesday, Mrs Williams had developed a black eye, her chin and neck were bruised and she felt very sore. 'I'm black and blue all over,' she said: 'The warden says even the inside of my mouth is bruised.' Her GP suggested that hypertension may have made Mrs Williams giddy and caused the fall. Despite her pain, Mrs Williams kept thinking of a letter she had read in the Mid-Devon Advertiser. 'It was from a lady who wanted to thank Newton Abbot people for helping her elderly mother who suffered from dementia,' said Mrs Williams: 'Now I want to do the same. Thank you very much to the Matalan supervisor and the girls who helped me so kindly.' Matalan manager Andrew Boult was pleased to hear that Mrs Williams was all right. 'We're pleased that Karen, a member of staff here, could help the lady,' he said.'