Women who showed true festive spirit

Now Christopher Jarvis says he has hope for the New Year after a desperate existence on the streets of Blackpool led him to contemplate ending his life.

The 52-year-old was freezing, soaking wet and without hope after a fruitless search for his sister since coming to the resort back in July.

But his grim plight took an upward turn thanks to a chance meeting with Fleetwood hairdressers Paigan Broten and Megan Rogers, who were on a work’s night out.

In an act of true compassion, they trawled around the resort’s B&Bs before finally finding one that would take him in, and they paid for him to stay there for two nights so he could at least get warm and dry.

The two girls decided to try to find his long lost sister and amazingly, thanks to tirelessly ploughing through Facebook, they succeeded. Now Christopher’s sister, Carletta, is helping make up for the lost years and is trying to find him permanent accommodation.

Christopher, originally from South Yorkshire, said: “It’s a miracle. I never knew people could be so kind.”

And Paigan, 28, of Darbishire Road, Fleetwood, said: “We’re not heroines, there are people helping the homeless every day.”

The women, who work at Kiss Hair and Beauty, on Larkholme Parade, Fleetwood, met Christopher during their works night out in Blackpool on Saturday December 19.

Four of the girls were on their way to a bar when they saw a group of men abusing a distressed disabled man and they went over to help him.

Paigan said: “We told them they should be ashamed of themselves and this poor man was shaking and crying.

“We just so sorry for him we offered to help him find a B&B.

“But it was just like the Christmas story, there was no room at the inn. We tried about 15 of them but even though we offered to pay them more than the going rate, they refused to take him in.”

Eventually they had a stroke of luck; they found one place, the Heathley Hotel on Hull Road with an open door and they went in.

And owner David Davis even found him some dry clothes.

Mum-of-one Megan, 25, of Duddon Avenue , Fleetwood, said: “David was amazing. He was the only one prepared to help.”

And she added: “Christopher’s story was so sad. He hadn’t seen his sister properly for 25 years. He had to leave his other life behind because it had all gone wrong and he was desperate from find his sister.

“He spent five months trying to find her, without luck. And it turned out shed’s been just around the corner all that time!”

Christopher’s sister, mother-of-three Carnetta Ferrie, 57, of Montpellier Avenue, Bispham, said: “What David and those girls have done is amazing. I can’t thank them enough.

“I always give money to the homeless and I probably passed my own brother in the street lots of times and didn’t know it was him.”

Christopher added: “It’s a miracle. I was at the lowest of the low, but now I’m on the up.”