A devastated flood victim in New South Wales has been brought to tears after a compassionate teenager gifted him a car.
Dylan Simpson lost his rental home and car in the catastrophic floods that ripped through Chinderah, near Kingscliff, in February.
He was couch surfing and using a bike to travel to work ever since, until 17-year-old Harry Ledger gifted him the keys of his car on Sunday.
Natasha Shearer, who helped Mr Ledger facilitate the donation of his Nissan sedan, said Mr Simpson was surprised and overcome with emotion.
“He had no idea we were coming,” she said.
“We brought him out to the car, we told him we had a few things for him in the car and the next thing, Harry handed him the keys.”
The 17-year-old from Kiama, south of Sydney, told the it was “the least” he could do after travelling to Lismore with his family in the wake of the floods that claimed more than 21,000 properties.
“When we’d heard and saw everything that was happening up there, we decided one weekend we would go up there and help out,” he said.
“When you really look and understand what’s happening there and the devastation … it seems like it’s the least you can do.”
Ms Shearer told reporters her son had saved up to buy a car for two years before deciding he wanted to donate it to flood victims.
“He bought it four months ago and decided that he wanted to do more and wished he could do more for people up here who are flood affected,” she said.
“He was over the moon that he could give it to someone who really needed it.”
Ms Shearer and her family have been helping with the flood recovery in northern NSW, donating more than $3000 in cash and products.
The good Samaritan said hundreds of people were still homeless and living in a similar situation to Mr Simpson.
“Even though the floods have gone, there is still a big recovery happening,” she said.
“It’s going to be months and months and months … there are so many people still homeless.”
The Tweed Shire Council said more than 500 homes have been declared uninhabitable across the region.
