Kind-hearted Wightlink crewman helps a lady in distress

Wightlink Leading Rating Mark Mitchell really went the extra mile when he realised a distressed passenger had missed out on her long-awaited holiday in Yorkshire.

Hilary Spinks had crossed the Solent on an early FastCat from Ryde to catch her coach in Portsmouth but didn’t make the connection. The 70 year old former boarding school matron, who had been looking forward to her ‘turkey and tinsel’ trip to Halifax, returned home in tears.

Kind-hearted Mark immediately offered his help. When his shift was over, Mark went home to pick up his car, then drove her all the way to her hotel in Halifax.

Mark says: “My heart melted when I heard Hilary had missed out on her holiday as it had already been cancelled twice because of Covid. We had chatted about it during the sailing to Portsmouth and I was upset to hear she was going home instead of enjoying herself in Yorkshire. I thought of how my elderly relatives would be disappointed, if it happened to them, and wanted to put things right for her.”

The journey to Halifax took more than five hours, stopping off for refreshments along the way, and Mark’s round-trip was more than 500 miles.

Hilary explains: “I underestimated the time it would take to walk from the terminal to the pick-up point.

“By the time I had even got out of the station and saw what the time was it was clear I had missed it. I felt terribly upset and also annoyed at myself.

“I really look forward to these holidays and I was so disappointed and sad at the thought of having to turn around and make the journey back home.

“When I got back to Wightlink, they came to see what was wrong. I told them what had happened and it was then that Mark offered to drive me. I couldn’t believe it. It was such a surprise and I just didn’t think someone so young would do that for someone of my age.

“Wightlink staff are always good to me but what Mark did was amazing. He was so kind and thoughtful and I am very grateful.”

Wightlink Chief Executive Keith Greenfield says: “I was delighted to hear Mark stepped in to help this customer and pleased that the story had a happy ending.

“Not surprisingly, Mark has won our monthly award for colleagues who go the extra mile to help customers. Although we have many wonderful members of staff, not many have gone quite this far. We are proud of Mark and his prompt actions to help a lady in distress.”

For more information, please contact:

Duty Media Officer

• 07870906189

• [email protected]