TWO Good Samaritans from Melksham helped a lost 73-year-old with dementia get to Devizes and into police safety.

Shortly before 9pm on Sunday, Nathan Franklin, 21, and Damian Hansford, 23, came across the elderly man in Sells Green.

The pensioner, who was trying to find his sister-in-law’s home, was pulling along a shopping trolley, filled with photos and prized possessions, on a dark unlit main road.

The two friends, worried for his wellbeing, got out of their car, put his trolley in the boot and gave him a lift to Devizes.

After driving around for 30 minutes looking for his sister-in-law’s address, they called the police and dropped him off at 9.30pm at Devizes Police Station.

“To be fair, I believe everyone should do the same thing. People driving by and not even asking if he was alright is quite horrific,” said Mr Franklin, a car salesman.

“We just wanted to make sure he was OK, so we asked if he was alright, asked where he was going and if he wanted a lift.

“Both of us were very shocked that he was standing there on a very fast unlit road on his own.

“He was a lovely gentleman, very talkative and very thankful when the police went to take him home. I have all the time in the world for people like that.”

While Mr Franklin called the police at 9.20pm, Mr Hansford, a computer numerical control operator, was reassuring him that everything would be OK.

“Damian should be given big credit for keeping him in the car and talking to him while I spoke to the police,” said Mr Franklin.

“I said to the police: ‘Some of us young people are not that bad’.”

PCSO Carter said on Facebook: “The kind act these two concerned members of the public undertook by stopping when many others did not or would not and taking the elderly gentleman to a place of safety meant we were able to return him home to Melksham that evening and put measures in place with relevant agencies to ensure ongoing help and support is received.”