Hero Wigan nurse gets new car and praise from world champion boxer during TV appearance

Lucy Duncan has won national acclaim for coming to the aid of a stricken 73-year-old who had just crashed into her car.

Without proper protection, she tended to and stayed with the distressed gentleman, who feared he had coronavirus, until an ambulance arrived then accompanied him to Wigan Infirmary where she stayed for several hours, keeping him company and waiting for him as he underwent treatment and tests. Sadly the patient died the next day.

Self-isolating, the Atherton 24-year-old was invited to appear on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning where first she was greeted by a special recorded message of admiration from world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and then went outside to discover her damaged car had been taken away to be repaired free of charge and a brand new courtesy model was in its place.

Businesses and individuals, impressed with Lucy's courage and selflessness, had already offered to fix her own motor for nothing.

Joshua said: "How's it going Lucy? I was speaking to my team and heard about what you went through.

"You showed compassion and bravery, stay safe, what you guys are doing in the NHS is unbelievable, you are the unsung heroes."

A shocked Lucy told presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin: "I thought I was overwhelmed before, but I am now, I'm speechless."

It was last Thursday night that Lucy, who works as a mental health nurse for the North West Boroughs Trust, was driving home from Wigan Infirmary through Abram when her Fiat 500X was hit a glancing blow by a vehicle coming round a bend in the opposite direction.

She followed the vehicle that had hit her to find the semi-conscious pensioner slumped at the wheel.

He grabbed her arm and said he feared he had coronavirus and went on to explain that he had one son in Milton Keynes to whom he hadn't spoken in years and didn't know many other people. He had been self-isolating for between seven and 10 days and had not eaten in that time.

He said he had gone out in her car to find food and other essentials.

Lucy said afterwards that she was glad she had found him and got him to hospital as a nice nurse was with him when he passed away, otherwise he might have died at home or alone in his car.

She said she could not understand what all the fuss was about what she did. "Surely anyone else in the same position would have done the same thing," she said.

After the broadcast, Lucy said: "It has been such a nice day. I had to pinch myself when I realised it was Anthony Joshua sending a message. I'm a big fan."

"I had put a nice top on for the broadcast but didn't think anyone would see the bottom half so I kept my pyjama bottoms on. But then I was asked to go outside, which I did, so the nation saw me in my pyjamas!

"But it was a lovely surprise. There was a cameraman filming as I was shown the new courtesy car and then my mum, my brother and his son along with several neighbours were there too - keeping a good distance - and clapping me. That was nice, because I had missed last Thursday's applause for the NHS because I was tending to the gentleman."

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