THE power of social media has helped track down a good samaritan from Bala who came to a Liverpool man's rescue during the town's recent triathlon event.

Tony Riley had asked the Denbighshire Free Press to try and track down the lady he described as his 'guardian angel' after she let him borrow her bike for the cycling stage of the triathlon after his bike had broken unexpectedly.

After publishing an article online on Monday, locals recognised the woman pictured as Llinos Jones Williams.

Llinos said: "The road was closed to cars because of the triathalon, so I was cycling to work. I was passing the triathalete (Tony) who looked a bit downhearted pushing his bike back towards Bala.

"When I asked if he was ok, he explained to me how devastated he was that his race was over, as he’d had a puncture. I had a bike, and had almost arrived at work, so I just told him to take my bike so he could finish his race. Since he was walking towards Bala I thought he only had the three miles to finish the cycling section. But then he turned around and headed the other way meaning he would have to ride the 15 miles or so on my rusty old bike with slipping gears!

"I spent the rest of the morning worried that, rather than helping him, I had presented him with a far bigger problem of my bike breaking down a lot further from Bala than where I’d met him. I was so relieved to learn that he had finished the triathalon despite the dodgy gears, although apparently he had cycled the whole way in the one gear! He so deserves to be congratulated! I’m really happy to be able to have helped him."

Had it not been for Llinos' generosity, then he would not have been able to complete the race - which was his first-ever triathlon and in aid of Tom Harrison House, a charity which helps veterans recovering from addiction.

Recalling the day, Tony said: "I'd like to thank Llinos for saving the day. She appeared from nowhere, like a guardian angel.

"She saw me in distress and asked was I okay, so I explained that I was personally okay, but that my first ever triathlon was over, due to my bike being broken and I was devastated because I was competing to raise funds for veterans in recovery.

"She kindly let me borrow her bike to complete the cycling section of the race. She even removed the basket from the front of it before she passed it to me.

"I finished that section with the biggest smile ever on my face and I don't know, from that day to this, if she knows how much her random act of kindness meant to me and the 'Tri For Recovery' team, that I was able to complete the triathlon.

"I would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of the residents and staff of Tom Harrison House in Liverpool".

Tony returned to Liverpool after he had completed the Bala Triathlon, but his friends were staying overnight in Wales and had the van to transport the bikes.

They tracked down Llinos to return the borrowed bike to her but unfortunately did not exchange numbers at the time.