A mother-of-two has been left overwhelmed by the kindness of a stranger who went "above and beyond" to help her as she prepared for her first ever Race for Life, in memory of her mum.

Rachael Bennett, from Goldenbank, was determined to complete the race in Falmouth on Sunday after making a promise to her mother Denise Myall, who died last November only a month after being diagnosed with cancer.

Already an emotional time for the mum-of-two, who was beginning to have serious race night nerves after describing herself as "not built to run, or even to walk," it was almost the final straw when she realised late on Saturday that she did not have any safety pins to attach her compulsory race number to her top.

In desperation she rang up Asda in Penryn, begging them to stay open an extra five minutes to allow her to get some, but unfortunately this was not possible.

However, the man on the other end of the phone suggested that he drop some round on his way into work the next morning.

Rachael, 40, gave her address, not expecting too much to come from it, but was both delighted and touched to come downstairs in the morning to find not only the safety pins but also a £5 note as sponsorship.

It came with a note, saying: "Best of luck for the race today. I'm sure you're running for a great cause, I'm glad I could help in some small way. PS Here's a fiver sponsorship."

All Rachael knows is that it was from a man called Aston, from the night team, and she is now keen to thank him and explain what his gesture meant to her.

She told the Packet: "You think someone won't follow through with their actions. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen or not.

"I got up Sunday morning feeling emotional anyway. There was a little parcel with a note attached, and he'd put the safety pins in there and then £5 sponsorship as well - I don't even know this guy. I phoned just out of desperation and he's gone above and beyond.

"This one act of kindness, the difference it can make. He doesn't realise how much that meant to me. It was just such a nice thing to do."

Rachael said it was the inspiration she needed to face the day, adding: "I was getting really anxious about it, thinking can I do it? I'm really overweight. I can't even walk to the car properly, let alone anywhere else. But it was lovely. I will definitely be doing it every year."

So far the family has raised around £360 in sponsorship for Cancer Research UK, with Rachael saying: "That's in memory of mum and to help everyone else with this dreadful cancer."