SOMETIMES all it takes to turn someone's mood around is one simple gesture, and for one Andover woman that proved especially true over the weekend.

Catherine Mckeown decided to go grocery shopping on Sunday, a task up until that point she had tried her best to avoid.

But out she drove, from her home in Charlton Road to the nearest Lidl.

She had done the standard check before leaving; phone? Check. Keys? Check. Mask? Check.

She had picked up her bags from the car and was about to go in when disaster struck.

"As I was about to my mask on, I noticed the band had snapped," she said.

"I rushed back to my car in the hope I had another.

"I did not, of course that would make life way too easy."

Like other shops, wearing a face covering in Lidl is now mandatory, in line with government regulations.

So Catherine knew that without one, she would have to make the annoying trip back home.

"While I was searching, I was thinking the last thing I want to do is go back home to get another and then head back out," she added.

"But I thought that was my only option as I would not go in without one.

"So I made the decision that I was heading home."

Andover Advertiser:

But not so fast. A stranger noticed the predicament she was in and jumped in to help.

"A lady frantically knocked on my window to get my attention and offered my a fresh mask.," Catherine added.

"I was so grateful as I just didn’t want to face another trip back.

"I have had a rough few weeks with mental health issues and I had pushed myself to go out shopping that day and for a moment it just felt like another thing that had gone wrong."

And Catherine was not about to let a good deed go to waste either.

"So I was so lifted by her generosity to help me out and in turn to pass on the good wishes I let two people in front of me in the queue and I hope the good gestures were paid forward with those people too," she added.

"I had to thank her in some way and show others that it's the little things that make someone’s day so different to how it could have been."

Official Government guidance says that "there is evidence to suggest that, when used correctly, face coverings may reduce the likelihood of someone with the infection passing it on to others, particularly if they are asymptomatic."