Sales assistant at North Shoes in Stamford’s Red Lion Square buys shoes for veteran

A kind-hearted shop worker put a hand in her pocket to brighten a veteran’s Christmas.

Former serviceman Paul Childe-Freeman visited North Shoes in Stamford’s Red Lion Square last week in search of new footwear.

Although determined to keep walking daily and even running to raise money, Paul’s mobility was impaired by a parachute accident while in the Allied Mobile Force, and he has to wear prosthetic supports on his legs.

Having given to others in the past by fundraising for the Stamford Branch of the Royal British Legion, Paul’s story pulled on the heart strings of sales assistant Vicky Stafford, who decided to buy his new shoes for him as a Christmas gift.

Vicky said: “I always do one thing every year at Christmas - last year I took a homeless person food and clothing.

“Paul happened to walk in at just the right time. I gave him the shoes, put the receipt in his pocket and told him it was a gift.”

As well as having been very seriously injured in the parachute fall, in 2020 Paul contracted meningitis, which was misdiagnosed as covid during the height of the pandemic, and resulted in brain damage. He also now suffers epileptic fits.

Vicky, who has worked at the shoe shop for three years, said: “I can enjoy my Christmas knowing I have helped somebody else.

“He was so genuine and that’s what I look for.”

After receiving his slip-on brown Reiker shoes, Paul, who lives in Stamford, told Vicky it made his day and hugged her.

“It brought us all to tears,” she said.

At the weekend Paul and his wife returned to the shop to deliver a box of chocolates and a card to Vicky.