'Heroine' helps elderly Hastings woman targeted by purse thieves in supermarket

Diana Murphy didn't think twice about what to do. Photo / Warren Buckland

Diana Murphy didn't think twice when a senior citizen discovered her purse had been emptied of money while she shopped for groceries.

Murphy, who was reluctant for publicity or accolades for her kindness, said helping the elderly is what her mother taught her and was something she wants her children to do.

Last week Murphy, from Flaxmere, was in line at the local New World and saw a woman in her 80s in distress. "She was trying to pay for her groceries," Murphy said.

"She was telling the checkout person she had lost her purse and her money."I had a $50 gift card and so I decided to pay it forward. She was blown away," she said.

"Someone had taken her purse, taken all her money out and returned it to the checkout. So she got her purse back but no money. Helping her out was just the right thing to do.

"She was an elderly lady, close to 80, 85, and she wasn't buying anything unnecessary. It was all stuff she needed to eat."

Murphy said the woman must have lived nearby. "She had a Zimmer-frame and was walking quite slowly. For her it must have been a double blow - firstly being out in these circumstances and then having her purse taken and returned with no money."

She also wanted to say a few a words to the person who took the elderly woman's purse.

"It's a terrible thing to do. You are supposed to look after your elders."

Murphy has been a Flaxmere resident for 17 years and, in spite of the occasional negative publicity, loves living in the village.

"It's a great community to live in," she said.

"You see someone in need, you pay it forward."

Diana Murphy helped a elderly woman in need because it was the right thing to do. Photo / Warren Buckland

Flaxmere councillor Henare O'Keefe said Murphy had restored his faith in humankind.

"She saw an opportunity to do good and took it with both hands," he said.

"She helped and supported one of our more vulnerable citizens when they were taken advantage of, by some despicable person. She's a true heroine."