A man who is being helped to maintain his parents’ graves by strangers because he lives too far away from the cemetery wants to extend this offer of kindness to anyone living in Stevenage.

Mike Devenish found a good Samaritan on the website TendaGrave – which helps find people near to a cemetery who are willing to help maintain a plot for free.

The 47-year-old said: “It is a nice gesture. I’m still going to go there and see them but it is nice to know that they are getting looked after and won’t get too messy.”

Originally Mike was looking to pay someone to look after the graves of his parents, Ray and Barbara, which are located in a village near to Chelmsford.

But he stumbled across the website and found someone living near to the cemetery who has agreed to visit the graves once a month and ensure they don’t fall into disrepair.

The website also allows people to send photos of the grave to a loved one, so they can see what kind of state it is in.

This generosity has prompted Mike, who works night shifts at Sainsbury’s in Poplars, to offer the same service to someone else in need.

He said: “I am sure there are lots of other people who would want the same thing so I’ve decided to offer the same service in Stevenage.

“It might be to someone who doesn’t live in the area or an elderly or disabled person who physically can’t maintain a loved one’s grave. Whoever it is I just want to do something to help them because I know how much it meant to me.”

Mike doesn’t drive and lives in Leaves Spring in Shephall, close to St Mary’s Church. Ideally he would like to help someone close to where he lives, but is willing to travel a bit further to help someone in need.

He said: “I’m hoping it might catch on with other people in the area because it brings a lot of comfort to someone who can’t look after a loved one’s grave.”