• I WRITE belatedly to thank the young people that assisted a man who had collapsed on West End Lane on April 24.

As I walked towards the tube station at about 10pm I saw an unconscious man on the pavement. Three young women had called an ambulance and two young men were talking to him.

The young women explained they needed to catch their train home, so I volunteered to stay with the man and one of the young men agreed to help me.

He soon needed to, repelling the men who wanted to throw water on the patient “to see if he’ll wake up”, and stopping people moving him from the near-as recovery position he was in.

Another young man moved the man into a better recovery position and checked his pulse. Three more young women sat by the patient, talking reassuringly to him, letting him know he was not alone. One of the first young men returned on his moped to see if there was any improvement in his condition.

Eventually the police then ambulance teams arrived, and we all went home. I don’t know what happened to the patient after that. I’ve checked the local news and not seen any sad news, which I’m hoping is good news.

I just want people to know that there are some fantastically kind and caring young people – I think some were possibly even teenagers – in the NW6 community.

And in a time of crisis they absolutely stepped up, selflessly. They did it without judgment, unlike the many adults who walked past and made derogatory, unhelpful, and unfounded comments about why someone might be unconscious on the street.

The genuine caring that these young “helpers” gave to a fellow human being who had “fallen down” should be an inspiration to all in these difficult times.

Juxtaposed with this, I’ve noticed that the beautiful memorial mural for John Henderson, who sold books outside the West Hampstead Thameslink station, has been painted over.

I wonder about those people that were so horrified by John being commemorated that they successfully sought for the mural to be destroyed. I wonder if they would have helped that night.

Or if they would have walked on by, averting their eyes; because perhaps despite the performative goodness of some of these older, vocal, members of the NW6 community, they hated the mural because it reminded them that they are not the “helpers”, unless those being helped are categorically not affected by addiction, poverty or homelessness.

Who knows? I’m just glad to have seen with my own eyes that the future of the area is caring. I feel humbled to have seen such kindness in action and I hope the young helpers’ parents read this and are proud of them.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED, NW6