Ivybridge teenagers are praised for their kindness

Young people from Ivybridge are being praised for their kindness and responsibility after a flurry of good deeds. 

The news is always full of doom and gloom, so its lovely to be able to report positive stories when they come around, and even nicer when those responsible are young people, who often get a bad rap.

This week, the young people of Ivybridge were recognised as being thoroughly decent human beings. 

Posting in the Ivybridge Community Group on Facebook, Tammy Wilson said: "Just wanted to say if your teenagers were in the big park at the bottom of Ivybridge there were a delightful group of about 10. One of our little ones got there coat caught on the net and off his own back one of them came over to help. Mums and dads should be very proud."

We tracked down the parents of the young man involved, Lewys Williams, 13, who explained he had got the coat off the basketball net without a second thought, and generally played the situation down as something that anyone would have done - although that sadly is not always the case. 

Lewys' mum Nicola said her son was someone who "will help anyone, talk to anyone and knows instantly if one of his friends is down", and said he has the "best bunch of friends" who enjoy going out on their bikes and called them "a group of lads who are a credit to all their parents". 

On the same social media post, someone else commented that they had also had a positive interaction with a group of teenagers. She said she had spotted a "large group of young teenagers" using the fire pit at the old stone reservoir in Longtimber Woods and when she walked back past the area about an hour later there was "not a shred of evidence" that they had been there. She said: "Good example to others! Parents should be proud!"

Less than 48 hours later, three "young teens" were also given a shout out in the same group. Karen, who asked we only refer to her by her first name, said: "I would just like to give a shout out to three young children today (one boy and two girls - maybe young teens) who found my phone in Ivybridge Town Centre this afternoon.

"A couple members of the public (who saw me frantically looking for my phone) told me some children had found a phone and had walked to the police station to hand it in. When I finally got to the police station the children were stood outside and handed over my phone with my bank cards and £20 still intact.

"I gave them £20 as a good will gesture and as a thank you because they saved me a lot of hassle and were very mature going to the police station. I just want to thank them for being honest and thoughtful ❤️ if one of these three [are] your children you should be proud of them."

Karen said that, along with most people nowadays, she had her debit cards along with "three years of photos on my phone" and she would have been "heartbroken" if she had lost them. She said she has now backed up the photos onto her computer!

The three, who included Toby Ford, took the £20 Karen gave them as a reward and went to the local shop, where they bought a bag of doughnuts for a homeless person who was outside. 

It is so nice to be able to write positive news stories, especially about young people! 

We attempted to contact the other parents but were unsuccessful, you can always contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Image: young people stock photo