Scouse hero who paid £159 for student’s train ticket has been found

He’s a nurse and father of two in Guernsey


Last week MPharm student Grace Georgina, 21, was left stranded in Euston after losing her return ticket to Liverpool. After being helped by a scouse stranger she took to Twitter to express her wishes to find him.

She told us: “Somehow, I ended up with all journeys and receipts in my purse apart from the open return I needed back to Liverpool. I panicked as I was set to be late and asked general information staff at Euston and a Virgin cashier who both refused, even with proof of ID, the Trainline booking screenshot, email confirmation and orange collection receipt to let me reprint my ticket.

“I stood texting my brother on the platform through silent tears of frustration when a man walking by stopped his mate, came up to me and said ‘Hey, you look upset, what’s wrong?’ I explained what had happened and he shook his head, and told me it’s no bother, he’d sort me out another ticket. I point blank refused several times as it was my own fault misplacing the ticket, and this guy was a complete stranger.”

Following a campaign to find the mystery man, Martin Gallagher, a nurse from Guernsey, stepped forward. Gallagher, who is 45 and was born in Liverpool, told The Mirror: “I have two daughters myself, 12 and 10, and if something like that were to happen to them, I would want someone to help them.

“The poor girl was so upset and started hyper-ventilating and I just thought ‘that’s not nice’. The staff were making a really big deal of it. I don’t even remember how much the ticket cost, but I paid it because I would never want anyone to leave my girl in that sort of state.”

Martin’s wife got in touch with Grace on Twitter. After exchanging a few messages Lindsay said Grace should one day pay forward the favour.

Grace has told us: “Since finally locating my mystery hero, I have thanked Mr (and Mrs!) Gallagher personally for the replacement ticket bought last Thursday, and even apologised for all the publicity they must have had.

“My parents have also separately been in touch, thanking Martin for his remarkable generosity and intend to reimburse him of the money. I am incredibly grateful to him, and it still seems surreal to me that we successfully managed to find him!”