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A man from Basingstoke is being hailed as a hero today after he smashed the passenger window of a car parked in the blazing sun to save a beer crate thoughtlessly abandoned by its owner.
Simon Williams has been been put forward for a number of awards, including the Pride of Britain.
“Anyone else in my situation would have done the same,” Simon admitted, modestly.
“At least everyone who has their own little case of beers at home.”
The 35-year-old didn’t hesitate when he discovered a crate of beer on the passenger seat of a parked car in the midday heat.
“I’ll honest, I almost missed it. I would probably have walked right past it if a dog hadn’t barked at me from inside the car next to it. But when I turned around, I saw the box. It looked pretty battered – the bottles weren’t even sweating anymore, they were that warm.”
It was immediately clear to Williams: Quick and decisive action was needed.
“According to the parking ticket, the box had been locked in for at least 45 minutes – without the window being cracked open even a tiny bit. If it had been like that for longer, it would definitely have become stale. Or the bottles would even have burst. Unbelievable!”
Williams then picked up a discard nearby brick, smashed the window and took out the box.
“You never know what strength you have until you need it. My fear for the safety of those poor defenceless beers must have given me supernatural powers.”
Firefighters who had been called in finally took the crate of beer to the applause of numerous passers-by and stowed the already dangerously warm bottles as quickly as possible in a cool box filled with ice water, where they quickly fully recovered.
The cost of the damaged car will probably have to be borne by the vehicle owner himself, who is being investigated by the authorities for beer abuse and cruelty to bottled beverages. He has also permanently lost custody of the crate of beer, which is now only half full.
This article first appeared on our German partner site, Der Postillon – the original can be read here.
