A GRATEFUL businessman has praised two homeless men who went to his wife's assistance after she slipped and broke a rib.

Paul Johns was so impressed by the actions of Graham Drysdale and Tony Attree that he has donated £3,000 worth of fleeces and waterproofs to the Open Door homeless centre they attend.

His wife, Cecile, 54, has now recovered from her injury sustained in Vivary Park, Taunton, in the summer.

Mr Johns, of St Josephs Field, Taunton, said: “Cecile was walking our Labrador in the park when she slipped.

“Graham and Tony saw she was in lots of pain and struggling to get up, so went over to help.

“They phoned me and I picked Cecile up and took her to A&E at Musgrove Park Hospital.”

Mr Johns, who runs an outdoor clothing business, decided to track down the Good Samaritans to thank them and bumped into them outside Open Door.

“I chatted to them and then had a word with the manager (Mark Woodock) and was so impressed with what they do there that I decided to make a donation from my business to ensure a few of the guys will be a bit warmer and drier this winter.

“I wanted to help because there's a stereotypical view of people who are homeless, but these two stood up and did what other people might not have been prepared to do.”

Mr Johns, who runs Time 4 Outdoors, based on Galmington Trading Estate, is now offering customers a part exchange deal - they will receive a discount for items of clothing they hand over, which will then be passed on to Open Door.

Open Door manager Mark Woodcock said: “I'm grateful to Paul for getting involved and helping us.

“There's a lot of goodness in the guys like Graham and Tony who come to Open Door and it's good that other people see that.”