A WOMAN visiting Dudley Zoo has thanked a mystery Good Samaritan who came to her aid during a visit to the town.

Janet Janis drove from Oxford to Dudley to meet up with her son and grandchildren, who travelled from Wigan, for a reunion at the newly reopened attraction after being separated by lockdown.

Arriving in Dudley for the first time, Janet got lost as her GPS became confused by the road works in the town.

She said: "We were going round and round and getting nowhere. We saw a man putting things in his boot, we asked for directions. He tried to explain but then said, why don't you just follow me.

"We accepted gratefully and he got into his car and drove three miles, us following, to leave us at the car park for the zoo."

Janet arrived safely and spent the day from her family at the Castle Hill attraction, following months of lockdown separation.

Janet said: "I thought it was the nicest thing, he really helped us out. He turned the day around."

The encounter happened at around 1pm on Monday (June 29) and all Janet knows about the man is that he lives in Dudley and was driving a black Range Rover.

She got in touch with the News so she could express her thanks to the mystery man who saved her special day with her family.

Janet added that the stranger's kindness will be her "lasting memory" of Dudley.

She added: "We are in troubled times, hard to connect, so it was heartwarming to find a kind soul in a stranger."

Dudley Zoo reopened to visitors with social distancing measures on June 15 following 12 weeks of lockdown closure.