An elderly woman who was ripped off by a man she hired to do odd jobs is overwhelmed by a group of strangers who gave up their Saturday to do the work - and then some - for free.
Jodi Armiger posted on a Whangarei community Facebook page detailing how she paid $200 to a man to do some gardening and water blasting. He did some work, then took the money and never came back to complete the jobs.
Her plight captured the attention of Tikipunga woman Nicole Mitchell, who sprang into action by organising a working bee at Ms Armiger's house.
On Saturday, five strangers braved the rain in an attempt to restore the 75-year-old's faith in people by weeding, planting and water blasting. Ms Mitchell had hoped more would turn up, but said the rain would have discouraged some. Nonetheless, Ms Armiger was overwhelmed by the strangers' kindness.
"I never ever expected this kind of response," she said. "All I wanted to do was warn people that there are nasty people out there who don't do what they say."