A Temple Hill resident has praised people in her community for their kindness after she appealed for help for her elderly neighbour.

Anita Sillick was approached by her neighbour in her 70s who needed help managing her overgrown garden.

The woman had received a letter from the council asking her to cut the shrubs and trees in her garden, and was worried her tenancy would be in jeopardy if she did not take action quickly.

When she asked Anita for help, she mentioned she had been scammed twice in the past by people who offered to help her.

More than a year ago, the elderly woman had been promised by two different workmen they would tidy her garden. In total, they took £60 and never came back.

Since then, the elderly woman has become unwell and is unable to find someone to carry out the work herself.

After hearing this story, Anita appealed on Facebook to someone to help her neighbour.

"People have a lot to say about Temple Hill - a lot of it quite negative - but every time I have reached out to the community, they have come up trumps," Anita told News Shopper.

She added "loads of people" got in touch to offer their help in clearing the woman's garden - but a specialist was needed for the scale of the work.

After just a few days, Ronnie Smith, who owns A-Z Waste Recyclers, said he would take on the job for free.

Speaking to News Shopper, he said: "There are a lot of people in our industry that rip people off, especially old ladies and men. It's annoying.

"It's just time for me. That's all I'm giving up."

Ronnie and Anita have been in touch since he responded to her Facebook appeal, and he is keen to get the problem sorted as soon as possible.

Anita said: "Temple Hill gets such a bad press, but the majority of people are good people."