THE owner of a Cheney Manor chippy was overwhelmed when 30 runners popped into his shop to thank him for helping one of them when the chips were down.

Members of the Swindon Striders running club ordered a big buffet of food at Bobby’s Fish and Chips to show their gratitude to owner Bob O’Keefe.

When marathon runner Mark Jones felt faint outside the shop during a six-mile evening run, Bob rushed outside and brought the 52-year-old’s sugar levels back up by giving him chips and a drink free of charge.

Bob said: “I’m not a hero, I don’t have a cape, our emergency services crews are the real heroes, I just did what anyone would have done and helped a guy out.

“The Striders said they were going to come in to see me but I didn’t expect so many of them, I was rushed off my feet with all the orders.

“Monday is usually my quietest night by far and sometimes I’m not sure it’s worth opening the chippy but this was like an entire Friday night in one hour. It was really full-on but I loved it.

“It was a lovely gesture, I really appreciate it and I love them for doing it, it was a really fantastic evening.

“They were chatting away and unfortunately I didn’t have time to chat back to them but I smiled.

“They all ploughed in and spent £110 in 40 minutes, so I was over the moon.”

The Swindon Striders’ captain Darren Pettit said: “He’s a top bloke, he refused payment for what he gave Mark, he just wanted to help.

“It’s important to us that he knew how grateful we were so we decided to do this to say thank-you to him.

“We did a big race on Sunday so that we could have time to go to the chippy on Monday.

“I made a post about it on Facebook and a lot of our members wanted to come along," he told the Advertiser.

“We were tired and our legs were sore, so it was just what we needed.

“Bob was so busy getting all our orders ready that he didn’t have time to chat to us, but he’s well aware of how thankful we are to him for helping Mark.

“We don’t normally do things like this, it was a one-off special thing for Bob.”

Remembering the day Bob came to his aid, Mark said: “I started to feel really dizzy. I get it now and again. I knew I had to stop.

“Bless them, they came out with a can of Sprite, a bottle of water and a bag of chips.

“I just thought it was so kind. I rarely carry money with me when I run, but I did that day. I said, ‘Look, I’ve got some money.’ I was waving a fiver in front of them.

“It’s a little drop of human kindness. They didn’t have to do it. It just goes to show there are kind people out there.”