Kind tradesman builds pensioner’s front step in exchange for ‘a cup of tea and a chat’

What’s your estimate for a new front step? Here's how one tradesman's kindness was priceless to this 80-year-old pensioner.

Lee Jackson, 32, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire was working on a job when he was approached by pensioner Robert North, 80, who lived next door.

Mr North asked him for a quote to build a new front step, reports the Independent.

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Mr Jackson’s generous quote

Kind-hearted tradesman Mr Jackson replied that ‘a cup of tea and a chat’ would do.

Mr North said he’d been struggling to get in and out of his house for the past five years. Despite the Council putting in a handrail, he hadn’t been able to use his front door because the drop was too long.

He’d only been able to use the back door and was having to walk around every time he went out.

He said: "I struggled to get out of the house before, but it's a lot better now I have the step. I'm more mobile and I can get out of the house – and Lee has done a damn good job!"

Saving the pensioner from further falls...

Mr North had explained that he’d had a bit of a fall the previous week when he asked how much a new step would cost.

This prompted Mr Jackson to reply: “you're an 80-year-old man, you shouldn't be paying for it.”

Using bricks from the pensioner’s shed and sand and cement he had in his van, the tradesman installed the step in just over an hour for “the price of a cup of tea and a natter."

And saving him money

Mr Jackson said: "I thought if it was my granddad, I'd want somebody to do it for him.”

He added: “He was great to talk to. He offered to go and buy the materials, but at 80, I thought he needs every penny he can get.

"I remember my grandparents at that age and they weren't well off, so there was no way I was going to let him pay for it.

"If I can do something to help someone, I'll do it. There's so much negativity these days, we need some positivity and we should help each other out where we can.

"A simple act of kindness can go a long way and really make a difference to people's lives."

Tell us the details of your random acts of kindness in the comments below.