A horse rider has praised staff at a Tesco store in Norwich after they helped her keep her horse cool on one of the hottest days of the year.
Hannah Cunnington, 23, and her horse Xepa were on their way to a British Dressage competition on Wednesday in Topthorn, Suffolk, when they pulled into the Tesco store at Harford Bridge to fill up their lorry for the journey.
But within minutes of being there the horse lorry broke down and, with recovery over an hour away, it looked like Xepa would be stuck in her horse box in the searing 30C heat.
'I thought Xepa would be stuck in their getting very, very hot,' said Miss Cunnington, of Framingham Pigot. 'But then a lady called Amanda from Tesco came out from the shop and offered to close off some of the forecourt for Xepa so she could come out of the lorry and get some shade.
'Staff then bought out a bottle of water for me and a bucket for Xepa.
'During this time, there was an extremely rude woman who was angry about not being able to reach the air and water, as this was near to where the horse was. The staff were very polite and explained the situation to the woman and kept my horse in a position that was safe for all parties.'
Miss Cunnington was then approached by another woman, called Charlie, who had horses herself.
Charlie offered to go to her home in Mulbarton and get her own horse lorry in order to take Xepa back to her yard. However, when she returned she offered to take Miss Cunnington and Xepa all the way to their competition in Suffolk.
'We would have been waiting for ages if it wasn't for her and when she came to the show with us she stayed till the end of competition and watched us and in the end we managed to earn a first and second place which was great,' said Miss Cunnington.
The story of the helpful staff at Tesco has been shared on Facebook over a thousands times and Tesco said in response to the story: 'It is always great to hear when my colleagues in store have gone above and beyond to help our customers.
'I have passed your kind words to our Management Team to make sure my colleagues are recognised for the great service they provided you with. I'm pleased to hear you were able to still compete in your competition in which you came 1st and 2nd.'
Miss Cunnington added: 'I didn't expect anyone to help me at all so I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone at the petrol station, especially Amanda and Kay.'
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