THE search is on to find a woman whose heartwarming act of generosity left a Newport shopper "gobsmacked".

Derek Everett was at the checkout in the Sainsbury's store in Crindau on Monday afternoon when the card machine would not process his payment.

Neither of his bank cards were working, and when Mr Everett turned to apologise for the delay to the woman in the queue behind him, she said: "Use my card."

As the woman paid for the shocked Mr Everett's groceries, he hurried off to the supermarket's cash machine to take out some money.

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But when he returned a few minutes later to reimburse the Good Samaritan, she had already left the shop.

Mr Everett is now desperate to track down the woman who helped him, to pay her back and offer his thanks.

"I just couldn't believe it," he told the Argus. "It's not very often I'm lost for words.

"I appreciate it very much, what a kind gesture that was."

He added: "It was a wonderful thing to have done. It gives you a nice feeling to know there are people out there [like the woman]."

Mr Everett's son, Gareth, told the Argus his dad was "totally shocked and overwhelmed somebody would do that for him.

In a Twitter post on Monday evening, he added: "I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the exceptionally kind lady who paid for my father's shopping."

"This act of generosity and kindness at a time when he was panicking has left him amazed, and genuinely stunned," Mr Everett's son wrote.

He added: "So whoever you are, we can't thank you enough for helping – you have certainly restored our faith in human kindness. I hope you get to see this message so that you realise how much your kindness has meant to him."

Since then, the Twitter post has attracted "so many comments and nice messages," Gareth told the Argus.

"But I'll feel a bit sad it she gets all this praise and doesn't see it," he said.