Stranded French visitors get v-room with a view thanks to Paisley cabbie who rescued them

Taxi driver Mark Watson spotted the family wandering about in the rain

A big-hearted Paisley taxi driver made a special French connection by going the extra mile to help a stricken family find a room for the night.

Mark Watson, 56, spotted a family of four pulling suitcases along Renfrew Road in the pouring rain and decided he had to act.

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After discovering the guest house the French family was due to stay in was covered in blood, the Ferguslie cabbie spent hours taking them to other hotels trying to find a room.

Ex-Army man Mark insisted he did what anyone else would have done.

The Renfrewshire Cab Company driver said: “I was just driving along Renfrew Road. It was absolutely lashing down with rain, and caught a glimpse of two young kids walking along the road.

“I stopped to see where they were going in the rain.

“They were French – they couldn’t speak English really, then their parents came over and showed me a booking for guest house in Paisley’s north end, so they were miles away.

“I gave the kids a towel to get dry then went to the garage to get a coffee and juice for the parents.

“When I took them to the guest house, it was absolutely covered in blood. It was on the bed and the curtains. Someone had been sick in the sink. I said I couldn’t let them stay there.

“I took them back to the hotel where they got the keys for the guest house, but they said they didn’t have any rooms.”

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The dad-of-two added: “So I took them to Glasgow Airport hotels, but there were no rooms as the planes had been grounded due to the weather.

“I took them to the Holiday Inn and the Holiday Inn Express, but nowhere had any space for them.

“I was going to take them to my own house to stay, but they still had the keys for the guest house, so I had to take them back to the first hotel first.

“When we got there, I told the manager that he should give them a room for the night as that was the least they could do.

“But the guy there just said they had no space.

“I opened one of the doors myself and saw it was empty.

“I told the family to go in and told the manager they were staying and that was the end of it.

“I left my number and told them to call if they had any hassle.”

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Mark said he acted because he wanted the family to have a good impression of the town and Scotland as they started their tour of the country.

He said: “I spent about four hours with them.

“They wanted to give me money, but I didn’t take any.

“I wanted to show Paisley and Scotland in a good light.

“I didn’t want their tour of the country to start on a low.”

It wasn’t long before Mark was rewarded for his efforts when a letter and wine hamper arrived for him with an invite to go to the family’s vineyard in France.

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He explained: “A parcel arrived for me. It was two bottles of wine from their region and pate in a lovely hamper.

“I was saying to people, I think anyone would have done the same thing, but they were saying they didn’t think so, that I had done a really good thing.”

Hannah McCulloch, from Renfrewshire Cab Company, said:  “Our drivers go above and beyond on a regular basis and the full team here at Renfrewshire Cab Company are passionate about delivering excellent customer service. 

“Mark’s story is a perfect example and we’re incredibly proud of the role we play within the local community.”