Issue 315 – Radio 2 traces Frome Good Samaritan

The work of a Good Samaritan, who came to the aid of a 92-year-old Frome resident, Victoria Bless, last week, was praised on the Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show on Wednesday 1st December.
As Arctic temperatures gripped the town, the lady who lives on The Mount in Frome was tending to her refuse bin, and as she did so she slipped and fell. She lay on the ground in sub zero conditions for over an hour, until a local tradesman saw her there and went immediately to her aid. The young man helped the shaken and very cold sufferer to her home, and waited with her until her daughter arrived to care for her.
Seeking no thanks or gratitude, when he saw Victoria Bless was in safe hands, he left to go about his business.
After making a full recovery, her first thought was to thank her anonymous rescuer, and having no details for him, she resorted to contacting the popular daytime radio show in hope of reaching his ears.
Victoria’s effort was rewarded when, shortly before 2.00pm on Wednesday 1st December, her thanks were aired on the national radio show. Her only recollection of her rescuer was he was a young man who drove a white van with ‘Helping Hands’ on the side, but she put her faith in the airwaves to get her thanks to him.
The tradesman was Jay Byne, who runs his own gardening and painting & decorating business Helping Hands, in the Frome area. He said of his experience, “I only did what I thought anyone would have done. Who knows what may have happened if I hadn’t spotted her in the freezing conditions. She is a lovely lady, and although it is my business to help people in the course of my work, this is one job that is very definitely ‘free of charge’.”