FIREFIGHTERS have thanked a mystery woman who paid for a crew member's shopping when he was forced to rush to the scene of a blaze.

Neil Hill was in the Lidl store next to Farnworth Fire Station when he received a call about a fire in Weston Street on Tuesday morning.

Despite having a trolley full of food ready for the checkout, the crew manager had to rush away, promising to pay for the items on his return.

After dealing with the incident, which turned out to be relatively minor, he returned to the shop to find his shopping had not only been paid for, but had also been delivered to the station.

The person responsible for this spontaneous act of goodwill is thought to have been a female shopper with a child who was waiting in line behind Mr Hill when the call came in.

Now, the firefighters from the station are hoping they can track down the mystery individual to say thank you.

“The whole team was surprised when they told us it had been paid for and very grateful,” Mr Hill said.

“It was a shame that we don’t know who it was that helped us.”

He added a message to the unknown helper, saying: “Thank you very much, please come to the station when you can and we will show you and your child around.”