A Pembrokeshire man who struggles with his mental health is voicing his gratitude to a Good Samaritan in a Pembrokeshire supermarket.
The gentleman was left distraught when he withdrew money from the cashpoint at Morrisons in Haverfordwest and then forgot to take it from the machine.
Fortunately, the £30 cash was handed into the store by a passer-by.
And now the man – who has asked to remain anonymous – is pledging “pay it forward” in donations to three Pembrokeshire charities who have helped him through a difficult year.
“Over the next few weeks, I will triple that £30 by paying £30 each to the three charities that have helped me through a very traumatic 2024: Autism Wellbeing CIC, Pembrokeshire Citizens’ Advice and The VC Gallery,” he said in a letter to the Western Telegraph.
He spoke of his distress when he realised that he had left the £30 in the cashpoint.
Suffering from PTSD and autism, he had braved the supermarket for essential groceries on Christmas Eve.
He explained: “I went at 6am just to try and avoid people, noise, panic attacks and meltdowns and went to Morrisons in Haverfordwest because they do have quiet hours specifically aimed to help autistic people who have sensory issues (lights and volume are turned down during these times which makes a massive difference to me).”
Filled with anxiety, he was desperate to get home, but stopped to withdraw his last £30 until his next payday to tide him over for any emergency spending.
When he realised he had left the cash behind, he had a ‘full autism meltdown with tears’ before returning to the store and its customer services counter.
There he was ‘flabbergasted’ to find that an anonymous person had handed in the cash.
He continued: “If you are that person, you have no idea what a difference handing in my £30 made to my life this Christmas and thank you so very much.
“I also want to thank the man behind the customer service desk in Morrisons on Christmas Eve who, I think, was a little taken aback to find me crying in front of him while he was putting the newspapers out!
“And to all the staff in Morrisons who are generally so good and dealing with me and my anxieties on that Christmas Eve morning and early on Saturday mornings during autism hour or just before.”