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Driver Tony’s a wheel hero after bus chase
A woman was reunited with a handbag she left on a bus – after a good samaritan drove 11 miles to help her retrieve it.
Lidia Kennedy panicked when she got off the Stagecoach bus in Upper Caldecote on Tuesday last week (February 26) and realised she had left her bag on her seat.
She started to flag down passing motorists, but after the first two were unable to help, Tony Podmore arrived and said that he could.
The number 74 bus was leaving the village and the pair did not have long – so Tony decided to follow the vehicle to Bedford Bus Station so Lidia could try and retrieve it.
Lidia, 62, said: “I had caught the bus from Biggleswade where I had been volunteering at the Cancer Research shop in the High Street.
“I live in Old Warden and it was a nice day so I thought I would walk the rest of the wayhome rather than catching another bus.
“I didn’t know what to do when I realised my bag was still on the bus, and I was so lucky that Tony could help.
“I also called a taxi firm but they didn’t have any cars in the area.”
After a tense journey along the A1 and the A603 the pair arrived at the bus station some 25 minutes later and Lidia, who is retired, rushed straight to the office.
She said: “I asked about the bus I had caught to see if it had left or was leaving, but thankfully it was still in one of the bays.
“I ran over and breathed a massive sigh of relief when I saw the bag on the seat, completely untouched.”
Lidia then returned to the office and a driver opened the bus doors so she could collect the bag.
She was particularly concerned as the bag had some particularly important items inside.
She added: “It had my passport, cards, money and some quite precious personal items inside as well.”
Lidia will be forever grateful to Tony, who works at the Shuttleworth Collection.
She said: “We drove back to Upper Caldecote and all I could think about was how lucky I was. I can’t thank Tony enough for what he has done – it was a kind, heroic and very selfless act.”
Modest Tony played down his part in the retrieval.
He said: “I’m not looking for any plaudits – it just seemed like the right thing to do.
“Lidia is a very, very lucky woman as we arrived in the nick of time.”
Lidia is now superstitious about the bag and her other possessions which are purple.
She said: “Six months ago I left my purple glasses on the bus and also managed to get them back. I will treat it as my sacred colour now.”
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Weather for Biggleswade
Friday 24 May 2013
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