GOOD Samaritan Zoe Devenish’s fundraising goal for a homeless man in Marlborough has more than tripled thanks to the generosity of the community.

The 26-year-old had set her sights on raising £250 to buy John a new rucksack, tent and food, but was overjoyed to see the money on her online Just Giving page rise from £125 to more than £825 in the space of a few days, after the Gazette highlighted her campaign.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Miss Devenish, of Edwards Meadow, Marlborough. “At the start I was really struggling and got all my friends and other people to donate and I didn’t know whether I was going to hit it.

“All of sudden after the article I kept checking the total and it just getting going up and up and it had hit the target the day after - it was the best feeling.”

Initially, the nanny started the fundraising page last month because she had heard from a friend that John’s rucksack with his possessions in had been stolen. However, with the awareness of the campaign she discovered it was actually another homeless man from the area named Dave who had his bag stolen.

She has since spoken to Dave and given him a new bag and will be using the money, which now stands at just over £670 after admin fees and payments that didn’t go through, to benefit both him and John.

Miss Devenish did receive some negative comments about her fundraising campaign but is keen to point out she is not handing out any of the money, but using it to buy items from a pair of boots, a tent, sleeping bag, lantern, cooking stove and torch.

The former St John’s student will also be donating the rest to Chippenham charity the Doorway, which helps people who are homeless.

She added: “The money that has been given, hasn’t just helped one person, it’s helped lots of people.

“It’s a really nice humbling feeling that so many people in Marlborough and around Marlborough have come together and donated to help someone locally that is not as well-off as we are.

“From this, maybe people will look twice when they see a homeless person. Rather than giving them money, maybe they will go and buy them a sandwich or have a conversation with them rather than walking past and ignoring them.”