A Good Samaritan had belongings stolen from his car as he looked after an elderly man who had slipped and fallen on ice.
Dean Elston, who is the assistant manager of Holbeach United Football Club, was driving past the end of Bridge Street in Spalding on Monday evening when he spotted an old man sitting on the ground, being cared for by passers-by after falling.
He stopped to help because he had items in the car which would help keep the old man warm.
But his act of kindness left him “shafted” after an opportunist thief stole a bag and a small amount of cash from his car.
He said: “I stopped at the end of Bridge Street and left the hazard lights on but I left it unlocked.
“It was a schoolboy error, but I was within sight of the car the whole time.
“It’s quite annoying. There I was doing my good deed and ended up getting shafted by a lowlife.
“I just thank my lucky stars that my wallet wasn’t in the car, so although I have had to contact the bank and some others I haven’t had to cancel my cards or anything.
“There were a few personal details in the bag, but not much else – just a half-eaten pitta bread and an empty yoghurt pot – and there was just some loose change, probably about a fiver in the car.”
Dean and other passers-by who had stopped to help, including an off-duty ambulance technician, kept the 84-year-old comfortable while they waited around an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
One of the Good Samaritans also went to alert the man’s wife, who he had left waiting in Herring Lane car park.
Dean added: “She was 81 herself but she gave her husband quite a telling off.
“In the end there were about five or six of us looking after him, and someone living nearby even came out with a hot water bottle to keep him warm.
“He said he couldn’t feel his arm, but other than that he was OK.
“The whole time the car was within sight and I did keep looking that way, but obviously I was distracted by looking after the old man and didn’t see anyone just dip into it.”