Self-isolating vulnerable man ‘overwhelmed’ by stranger’s kindness
Paul Casey had been forced to sleep in his lounge after he had been left with no heating or hot water while he was self-isolating. Photo: Meg Casey - Credit: Megan Casey
A 56-year-old with heart failure, who was forced to sleep in his lounge after he had been living with no heating or hot water, said he was left feeling “overwhelmed” after a stranger came to his aid.
Aaron Sayers fixed Paul Casey's boiler at his home in Barnham after he heard Mr Casey had been sleeping in his lounge with an electric heater. Photo: Aaron Sayers - Credit: Aaron Sayers
Paul Casey, from Barnham, near Thetford, had been in self-isolation for 15 days and for the last two weeks he has been forced to sleep downstairs with an electric heater after his boiler had broken.
But when plumber, Aaron Sayers, owner of AS Plumbing and Heating, heard of Mr Casey’s situation after he got speaking to his mother while she was on a walk, Mr Sayers wasted no time in going round to fix it, free of charge.
Mr Casey said: “In these dark times we have to look for positives and that small act of kindness from that man meant a lot to me.
“I had been sleeping in the living room with an electric heater and over the last couple of weeks we have some cold nights.
Paul Casey with his grandson. Mr Casey had been forced to sleep in his lounge after he had been left with no heating or hot water while he was self-isolating. Photo: Meg Casey - Credit: Megan Casey
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“He came round within one hour of hearing about my situation and fixed it in 15 minutes and he wouldn’t take a penny from me.”
That is when Mr Casey’s daughter, Megan Casey, took to Thetford forum community group on Facebook to find the local plumber and thank him for his kindness.
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Mr Sayers, who grew up in the town but now lives in Bury St Edmunds, said: “I was doing a job and his mum was walking past and we got talking.
“She asked what I do, and I said I was a plumber and she told me her son had been sleeping in the lounge and it had been freezing.
Paul Casey had been forced to sleep in his lounge after he had been left with no heating or hot water while he was self-isolating. Photo: Meg Casey - Credit: Megan Casey
“I was on my way to another job so I thought I could help. I just did what any plumber would do. We made sure we kept our distance and it was easy because his boiler was outside.”
Mr Casey who has previously fought cancer and now lives with a heart condition is at high-risk to the coronavirus and has been forced to stay in his home away from his family.
But the father-of-two and grandfather, says he is trying to stay positive.
Mr Casey added: “I have a good support network and family.
“The hardest part is that I can’t see my four-year-old grandson, I love him with all of my heart.”
