A young mum says a stranger's random act of kindness saved the day after she spent a freezing night in a remote part of the Lake District.
Katie Spearpoint had spent a long day exploring the fells around Coniston; an area she is familiar with and has visited countless times in the last year.
However, her trip became a nightmare when she realised she realised the pocket of her backpack was open and her car key was missing. Thankfully, she hadn't locked the vehicle and was able to get into the car and take shelter.
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But after making enquiries, she was told a new key would cost her £800 and would take a week to arrive. So Katie, who had few provisions and resorted to putting socks on her hands and starting a small fire to keep warm as temperatures plummeted, was forced to spend the night in her car.
After a cold and stressful night, where she was left worrying about her young daughter being cared for back in Lancashire, she called for a tow truck to come and rescue her as she searched the area she had been walking for her car key.
But, as she was on the phone, she found out someone had handed her keys into the Coniston Tourist Information Centre. Katie, from Fleetwood, now desperately wants to track down her Good Samaritan so she can thank them in person, reports Lancs Live.
Speaking about what happened, she said: "I had spent about seven hours exploring the mountains around Coniston and I was making my way back to the car but I realised my key wasn't in my bag," she said.
"I knew I'd not locked the car because my fob is broken but I wasn't too worried as I was in a remote place.
"At the time I was pleased as I knew I would be able to at least get inside the car. But I didn't know what I was going to do. It was freezing. I made some calls and it was going to cost me £800 to get a new key but it would take a week to get the key. I was stranded and I didn't know what to do.
"It was freezing, I tried to wrap up in blankets and coats I had in the car but it was so cold I sort of went into survival mode I had to light a fire to try and keep warm it was so cold. I know it wasn't the best thing to do but I didn't know what else to do. My phone was dying, I was hungry and worried."
Katie said she was becoming increasingly concerned about what was going to happen to her. "If it wasn't for my mum looking after her it would have been even worse" she said.
The following morning she made her way back out to look for the keys when she discovered a note saying that the keys had been handed in. Over the moon, Katie took the plunge and managed to get booked into a hotel until she was able to get to the tourist information centre to collect the keys.
Katie said: "I thought my body was going to give up on me it was hell. I'd had a magical day but it became an intense experience. I really want to find the people who handed my keys in I want to give them a hug and say thank you. I was crying down the phone to the tow company when I found out they had been found.
"I have learnt a lot from this experience especially, how much you need other people. If that person hadn't helped I don't know what I would have done."
Katie, who is a make-up artist, is hoping to find the people who handed in the keys saying I can't offer them much but I want to say thank you, give them a hug and would do their make-up for life.
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