A mother and daughter who travelled 4,000 miles from the US to see Ed Sheeran in Sunderland have praised a kind-hearted police constable who helped save their trip. Denise Buie and her daughter Alyssa Midence flew from their Florida home last week as part of a 10-day trip to celebrate the 22-year-old’s graduation.
They had tickets to see the global superstar’s show at the Stadium of Light in Tyne and Wear on Friday – but excitement turned to despair when their hire car broke down near the city’s Northern Spire Bridge. With traffic queuing behind them, Northumbria Police motor patrols officer PC Andy Jackson helped move the vehicle off the road while they waited for a recovery vehicle.
Two hours later, PC Jackson was driving back and saw Ms Buie and Ms Midence still waiting in their car at the side of the road – with no sign of a recovery vehicle. He pulled over and spoke to the distraught women, who were already resigned to missing the concert, with Ed Sheeran due on stage any moment.
PC Jackson contacted the recovery firm and told them the key for the car would be in the front office of Southwick police station to collect – before escorting the tearful women to the stadium himself.
“I just couldn’t believe the kindness shown to us,” Ms Buie, 52, said. “I kept calling PC Jackson our ‘superman’. He didn’t have to stop and understandably would have had other things to do, so we were just blown away by his willingness to go above and beyond.
“We are truly grateful that he went the extra mile – and that he helped save Alyssa’s graduation celebration. It was a really distressing time, having travelled all that way on our first visit to England. So to be met with such generosity and compassion is something that we’ll never forget.”
PC Jackson said: “I was just pleased to help. When I was driving back past them a couple of hours later I realised it was going to be tight in terms of them being able to get to the concert full stop.
“After seeing how upset they both were, and given they travelled halfway across the world for it, I was more than happy to quickly hatch a plan and make sure they got to see Ed, before continuing with my shift. I’m pleased that they had a good time and hope they got home safe.”
