Derek spends seven hours with broken down van to ensure customers get their shopping

Derek was due to finish his shift when he heard that a colleague's van had mechanical problems, so instead of going home he offered to sit with the vehicle to let the other driver complete his deliveries in a different van.

Derek remained in the broken down vehicle for seven hours while waiting for recovery. During this time, his family checked up on him to ensure he was ok, and they also brought him food and coffee.

He was given the option to go back to the Asda store and wait, but willingly decided to stay with the van until recovery arrived. This resulted in him not getting back to the store until 9.30pm – seven-and-a-half hours after he was supposed to finish work.

Without complaining, Derek went in for his shift the following morning at 6.30am and thanks to him all the customers received their shopping on time.

Derek said: "There were no streetlights so for a while I was sitting in darkness. The only thing working in the vehicle was the heating, but I was glad of it. I knew if I didn't wait a lot of customers would not have received their shopping that evening, so I was happy to take on this responsibility."

Asda Galashiels store online training manager Ian Chapman applauded Derek’s commitment to the role and thanked him for his efforts.

Ian said: "Derek is a great driver – he continuously does his bit for the customers every time he is on the job. He came into work the next day at 6.30am and did not complain once.

"He was the reason many of our customers received their deliveries that evening. We appreciate his hard work and dedication to the role."