Good samaritan act of kindness goes viral

Derry man David Doherty has said a very public thanks to the man who helped him.

David Doherty from Ardgrange in the city was travelling to Liverpool by boat on December 28 when he discovered he had lost his wallet and phone. A fellow passenger overheard him asking at the boat’s information desk if anyone had handed in a wallet.

David subsequently discovered he’d left it in his sister’s car back in Derry.

Explaining what had happened, David said: “He over heard me asking the boat reception if a wallet was handed in and asked me if I found it. I explained to him my situation and I told him I would work it out when I got there. Ten minutes later he came back to me and told me he was a trucker and he has a son my age and that the same thing had happened to him and someone helped him out. So he arranged for me to get a dinner and breakfast on the boat and also got me access to the Truckers’ lounge. After a cup of tea and a long chat he told me he was off to his cabin and to go to reception in 15 minutes. I went up and there was an envelope for me containing £40 and a note saying “have a safe journey back to Leeds, and remember what goes around comes around”!

“I can’t explain how thankful I am. His name was Tom and he works for Kelly’s European Freight Company. I’ll be forever grateful,” said David.

We would love to track down the Good Samaritan, do you know Tom the Trucker? Get in touch via email

So far, the story has attracted over 30,000 ‘likes’ and 1,000 shares on Facebook. You can read David’s original Facebook post here