Elderly couple praise Horsham community who came to their aid after fall

Derek Ashbolt said he and his wife Pauline were out shopping in Horsham when they tripped over.

Derek, 92, said when the fall happened in West Street on Wednesday morning (November 4), people in the town rushed to their aid.

The community helped them up, giving them warm blankets and tea to help keep him and his 89-year-old wife warm while they waited for an ambulance, he added.

The Billingshurst resident said: “We’re thanking people we don’t know. We can’t get over it. You hear so many stories now of everybody [acting] selfish. There was none of that.

“Just very, very, very nice people helping two poor old people that tripped up.”

Derek told the County Times he and his wife were checked over in hospital before returning home to recover.

Derek said he and his wife still regularly shop in Horsham despite no longer driving.

He added: “We go on the local bus into Horsham. We trying to keep on our feet which we didn’t last Wednesday.

“I would just like to give thanks if I knew who they were.”