A CHRISTMAS shopper was overwhelmed with goodwill after a cardigan she bought for the festivities and accidentally left on a bench was returned.

Audrey Vivian was shopping in Dorchester town centre when she decided to treat herself to the £50 cardigan from Monsoon, at Antelope Walk, near Cornhill.

But when she stopped to sit on a bench in Charles Street at the other end of the town centre at the end of a tiring shopping trip, she left the bag behind.

Mrs Vivian, from Sidmouth Road, Lyme Regis, called a friend in Dorchester when she got home to see if the cardigan was still on the bench, and when she was told it was not, she thought it had been taken for a Christmas present.

But a friend who lived in Dorchester went to the shop the next day, where staff said the bag had been handed in.

Mrs Vivian said: "I was absolutely amazed.

"It was kind of someone to walk all the way up to Monsoon on such a cold, dark and wet evening - I couldn't believe it.

"I was sure someone had taken it, because it was all wrapped in tissue paper and would have been a lovely gift for someone.

"But instead someone performed a wonderful act of Christmas kindness and took it to the shop where it had been bought.

"I never expected to see it again, but it seems the spirit of the season is alive and well in Dorchester."