NESTA Wellby owes her life to two binmen who found her lying unconscious in her back garden.

The 83-year-old Lydney grandmother suffered a blackout and fell on her patio, breaking her right hip. She also suffered severe bruising.

But Biffa binmen Tim Jenkins, 32, and 29-year-old Gary Wooding sprung into action when they came across Nesta while doing their rounds.

The quick-thinking refuse collectors called for an ambulance and made sure Nesta stayed safe and warm before she was taken to hospital.

Nesta, who has two sons and two granddaughters, said she remembers very little about the fall and couldn't rule out that she had fallen when taking her rubbish out the night before she was found on July 20.

"I normally put my bins out the night before but the only thing I remember is a man with a yellow jacket standing over me which was Gary or Tim, and then the paramedic arriving after that," she said.

"I really was so lucky to be found. I normally see one of the binmen running round through the kitchen window on their collections and it must have been a terrible shock for them when they found me.

"My family got in touch with Biffa to thank them very much, and I also wrote a letter saying how thankful I was for what Gary and Tim did.

"I am making a good recovery now."

Nesta is now home from Gloucestershire Royal Hospital following a hip replacement operation and has had Linkline installed so she can get help if anything like this happens again.

Her son Martin said: "If it hadn't been for the binmen she could have been lying there for a very long time and we don't like to think about what could have happened if that was the case.

"We are so thankful to the men involved – they were fantastic and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude."

Gary, who lives in Ross-on-Wye said: "We went to do Mrs Wellby's back door bin collection and found her on the ground. We got her a coat to keep her warm, called an ambulance and kept talking to her. It was lucky she had a back door collection."

Tim, also from Ross-on-Wye said: "It was a shock to see her there and she could have been there for a lot longer if she didn't have a back door collection. We're just glad she's on the mend."

Coun Martin Quaile, cabinet member for the environment at Forest of Dean District Council said: "We are immensely proud of these two men for what they did to help Mrs Wellby.

"Our assisted collections for the elderly, infirm or disabled are very popular and in this case may have saved Mrs Wellby's life.

"We send her our best wishes and hope she recovers well following her operation.

"We are glad the family can have the added peace of mind now that comes with the Linkline service."

More information on back door collections or Linkline can be obtained by calling the council on 01594 810000 or visiting http://www.fdean.gov.uk">www.fdean.gov.uk.