A BROMSGROVE couple who thought the Good Samaritan was perhaps just a parable were proved wrong when a stranger came to their rescue as they were stranded by the side of the road.

Seventy-two-year-old Ken Hadley and his wife, Margaret, of Badgers Way, Blackwell, were travelling along the bypass between Alcester and Evesham to go shopping in Evesham on Saturday, October 13, when they were forced to pull-over because the exhaust split on their car.

The couple were just about to phone the breakdown service when a man pulled over and offered to help.

Within three-quarters of an hour the kind-hearted man, who would not give his name or say where he lived, had jacked the car up and had temporarily mended the exhaust to allow them to get to the nearest garage in Evesham.

Mr Hadley told the Advertiser/Messenger how the man was covered in mud and grime from the road.

"I offered the gentleman some money for helping us but he flatly refused and said he didn't want a fuss.

"We couldn't thank him enough.

"The ironic thing about it was, the next day when we went to church, the bible reading was the Good Samaritan."