Praise for man's Facebook offer to fix car scratch

A father whose son accidentally scratched the side of a car has been praised for finding its owner on social media and offering to pay for repairs.

Ashley Tomlin had parked at Andover Leisure Centre when his four-year-old opened their car's door by himself and hit the BMW parked alongside.

He posted a picture of the car on a local Facebook group and said he would be "happy to have it sorted".

Thomas Hallsworth, the driver of the car, said he appreciated "the thought and the willingness" Mr Tomlin had shown to solve the problem.

Mr Tomlin, from Andover in Hampshire, said he heard back from Mr Hallsworth's wife on the morning after posting his message.

His post received more than 5,000 positive reactions, and more than 90 comments and shares, which he said was "very surprising".

Mr Hallsworth, who lives in the nearby village of St Mary Bourne, said a colleague had seen the Facebook post.

"I was taken aback slightly, but that's a really nice way to raise the issue and it's incredible that it reached me at my office," he said.

He also said his employer would cover the cost of repairs, so there was no bill to be paid.

"The only suggestion is that maybe [Mr Tomlin] might like to make a charitable donation to the cause of my employer - the Teenage Cancer Trust," he said.

He said it had turned out to be "a very nice story".

"It's a nice outcome but it's just the thought and the willingness for him to actually try and make contact and solve the problem," he added.

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