THE plight of a Farnworth woman facing Christmas alone after her husband was rushed to hospital in Halifax has touched the hearts of local people.

The heart-rending story, reported in the BEN on Christmas Eve, caused a flood of well-wishers to offer to drive Marie Grady across the Pennines.

Mrs Grady hit out at the Royal Bolton Hospital claiming she had been "ripped apart" from her husband - who was sent to Halifax because of a lack of intensive care beds at Bolton.

Mrs Grady, who cannot drive, was devastated after realising that she would not be able to see her husband on Christmas Day due to a lack of public transport.

But after the story appeared in the BEN, Marie managed to wish her husband, Raymond, a Merry Christmas face-to-face.

Mr Grady, 63, underwent a life-saving operation for cancer after being diagnosed weeks before Christmas.

Mrs Grady explained: "Lots of people telephoned and offered to give me a lift on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

"But my close neighbours Maureen and Kevin Robinson decided that I wasn't going with strangers and ended up giving me a lift themselves!

"And on Boxing Day, a very generous couple from Bolton's Methodist Mission went completely out of their way to drive me to Halifax and back.

"I've had people turning up at my door, tracking me down through the local newsagents.

"I am really very grateful for everyone who offered to help and would like to say a big thank-you. It just goes to show that there are still some decent people around."

Mr Grady had to undergo another operation while in Halifax but is now said to be improving while still waiting for a bed to be made available in Bolton.

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