'It just felt right to pay for couple's shopping'

A supermarket staff member who was praised for paying for a family's shopping when they were coping with the stress of a newborn baby has said it "just seemed like the right thing to do".

Ashleigh Macfarlane-Staig was working at Asda in Horwich, Bolton, when Harry Brown, 48, went to the store to buy essentials for his wife, Emma, 37 and their baby - who had just arrived via an emergency Caesarian section.

But when his payment card was declined and he asked to void the transaction, mother-of-six Ashleigh stepped in.

"I saw that he had baby items and I thought we've all been there. So I paid for them myself. I said for him to take his items and go enjoy his baby. It just seemed right," she said.

After the baby's birth, Harry had dashed to the store to buy a breast pump, baby grows, blankets and sanitary products.

When he arrived at the checkout to find his payment card was not working, he said he did not know where to turn.

"It was one of those days - I was absolutely shattered by then after working all day on the Friday, getting into bed and then Emma going into labour," he said.

"By this point I hadn't slept. I'd had three hours sleep over the last three days.

"When I got to the till it just kept saying 'declined, declined, declined'."

Ashleigh, who has her own children aged between eight and 20, then came to the rescue.

Mum Emma told BBC Radio Manchester: "Her kindness meant I could feed my daughter and make sure she was warm. It restored my faith in humanity.

"You hear about it all the time – people stepping in and doing this kind of thing – but it's never happened to us like this before."

Asda has said that Ashleigh has since been rewarded through Asda's internal recognition scheme to cover the cost of the shopping, plus a little extra to thank her for her kindness.

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