I WOULD like to thank, through your columns, the members of public who came to my assistance on January 14.

I had come down from Newcastle to my grandma's funeral, and afterwards had gone into a pub called the Blue Bell, just round the corner from Marks & Spencer, for a little lunch.

I staggered and fell over onto the pavement as I left the pub a while later and unfortunately a cyclist, riding on the pavement, ran over the fingers of my left hand. Two young people helped me to a seat at the top of the road where I rested for a few hours before returning to Newcastle.

I make my living busking with a guitar and so the day proved to be an expensive one for me, but a big Geordie "thanks" for the help - I'll walk on the road next time I visit, it might be safer.

Don Perringham, Regent Farm Road, Gosforth, Newcastle.