It's ten years ago this week since we reported how a kind gesture found its way to the other side of the world.
A thank you card to two kindly police officers made a round trip of almost 20,000 miles after being mistakenly sent to Epping, Australia, before finding its way to its rightful recipients.
In December last year PCSO Laura Martin and PCSO Carley Etherington, who are both based in Epping Police Station, stopped to help a lady whose Ford Galaxy car had broken down in Epping Forest near Waltham Abbey and stayed with her until help arrived.
PCSO Martin said: “She had broken down in a dark part of the forest and we sat with her because she was a bit scared.”
Then, in January, the officers were surprised to receive a letter from Epping police station on the other side of the world in Victoria, Australia.
The letter said that they had received a card addressed to the police station in Epping High Street, but could not find any record of the collar number of the officers mentioned in the card.
After checking the internet for the location of Waltham Abbey, which is also mentioned in the card, the Australian officer was able to work out the error, and forward the card to the UK.
PCSO Martin said: “It was a bit of a surprise. I was amazed it had managed to make its way to Australia.
“It was a lovely card from the lady and really gave a boost to our day. It was also very kind of the officer in Australia to send it on to us.
“Epping Australia sounds lovely though, I might see if I can do a bit of a job swap.”
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