A SHOPKEEPER says her faith in young people was restored after a vandal offered to pay for a window he smashed.

Roma Pye, who owns women's clothing store Ladybirds and Babybirds in St Alban Street, Weymouth, was mortified when she was told her shop window had been broken.

But she couldn't quite believe it when a man visited her store the next day to confess to the crime and offered to pay for the repairs.

The story also touched Mike Barker, manager of Roman Glass in Cambridge Road, Weymouth, who agreed to repair the window at cost after hearing about the man's unprompted confession.

Mrs Pye, of Poxwell near Osmington, said: "I had a phone call from the owner of the shop next door to say that the front window had been smashed overnight.

"So my son, Matthew, came along and boarded it up for me the next day.

"He said he thought it would cost about £500 to repair."

She added: "I came into work on Monday morning and shortly after a very pleasant young man came in and said he was here about the window.

"I thought he had come to repair it at first but then he said he was the one who had broken it and could he pay for the repairs.

"He said he'd had an argument with his girlfriend and smashed it and was very embarrassed about it. I said I hoped he had patched things up with his girlfriend but he said he hadn't yet.

"It really restored my faith in young people and I thought it was very honest of him and quite refreshing."

Mr Baker said: "Roma's son Matthew actually works for us and he had suggested to the area manager we might do this work at cost after hearing about what this man had done.

"I spoke to the owner of Roman Glass about it and I think he was just as amazed as we were that the guy who had done the damage had offered to pay for it and he agreed to let us do the work."