A pensioner and his wife would like to thank the kind strangers who stopped to help after he suffered a terrible fall.

Jim McCree was returning to his car on The Braes in Saltcoats when his legs went from under him and he hit his head on the pavement.

His wife, Nancy, 72, said she was at their parked vehicle when she turned around and “got the shock of [her] life”.

Nancy said: “It was raining in the alleyway, his legs went from under him and he hit his head.

“He’s on Warfarin, which makes him bleed, so it looked ten times worse.”

When Nancy saw what had happened five Good Samaritans stopped to help Jim.

The 76-year-old suffered a cut to his head that was bleeding profusely.

Several cars stopped and people came to his aid.

She said: “A young man took his jacket off and put it under Jim’s head.

“A lady offered to phone an ambulance.

“We went up to A&E at Crosshouse, worried about the bleeding.

“They cleaned him up and gave him a scan to make sure there was no bleeding inside the head.

“He’s got a corker of a black eye and his cheek is all swollen.

“He can’t see out of his right eye.”

The couple, who live in Ardrossan, moved to the area in 2003.

Nancy got in touch with the Herald to pass on their thanks to everybody who helped.

She said: “I was so upset I didn’t ask for any names.”

She has been able to track down one of the kind strangers because she spotted his work van.

Nancy said: “My heartfelt thanks to all who stopped and helped Jim.”