A GROUP of volunteers saved the day when a sight-seeing pensioner lost her tour group while marking her 95th birthday.

Hundreds of visitors filled the streets of Harwich on Saturday and Sunday to look inside the town’s historic attractions for free as part of National Heritage Weekend.

But on Sunday the Harwich Society team had to come to the rescue after the woman – known only as Enid – lost her coach trip.

Her group had stopped to use a public toilet near the pier when Enid came out to find it had driven off without her.

Enid may have been hoping to immerse herself in some of Harwich’s best sights such as the Redoubt Fort, the High Lighthouse and Foresters, but was left stranded.

Kind passers-by saw Enid was in distress and asked the volunteers at the Ha’Penny Pier Visitor Information Centre to help.

Lesley Elliot, who was volunteering, said the woman had lost her coach at 11am.

She said: “She was looked after by a group of us until the coach returned later that day.”

While helping Enid the team discovered it was her 95th birthday.

Determined to cheer her up they threw her a birthday party, complete with a cake.

Lesley said: “Enid sat with us volunteers and was too frail to do much else so we went to buy her lunch.

“She said it was her 95th birthday so we sang her happy birthday and then she spoke about her wonderful memories of the town.

“The most delightful thing was that she listened to me giving a talk and asked me to tell her more after I’d finished.”

Staff from the Cafe on the Pier event brought over a birthday cake and gave Enid a little party. Enid was looked after in the centre for more than four hours, before the coach returned to pick her up at about 4pm to take her back to the Sudbury area where she lives.

Lesley said: “When the coach driver returned she said she was glad we were able to look after Enid.

“The coach driver was lovely and she took Enid home with the rest of the group.”