An estate agent worried because she had not had a regular phone conversation with an elderly seller living alone, drove out to see her.

Becky Storton, 25, a negotiator at Webbers in the west country, went to check on the client – who had not answered the phone after a couple of hours – with the key that had been handed over for viewings.

When she and a colleague got to the house, the lady did not answer when they rang the bell and knocked on the door.

They then unlocked the door to go in, and found the door to the lounge wedged – with the client having fallen against it.

The pair immediately called an ambulance. When the crew arrived, the slender Becky was encouraged to squeeze through the narrow gap. She was then able to unlock another door giving the medical team access.

Despite the quick response from the emergency services and an immediate transfer to hospital, the lady died a few days later.

Becky told few people about what had happened; to those she did, she said she had done the best she could.

A humble and proud managing director Malcolm Prescott has now presented a special award, the company’s John Spain Cup, to Becky.

Many at the presentation were hearing the story for the first time, but it was clear that none were surprised by the initially unnamed person being revealed as Becky.

The John Spain Cup is awarded annually in memory of a former well-known and respected Webbers director to members of staff who perform above and beyond their duty.

Prescott said: “With our staff numbers now approaching some 150, the competition is tough as all our staff always try to go the extra mile.

“Each year we invite nominations, and this is always a very interesting meeting where we consider the nominations and confidential suggestions. There were some really great stories, which generally on a busy day-to-day basis don’t reach us.

“We live and operate in a tough competitive world, but we are very keen to not forget the human side of our business.

“We may sell property but we are a people business and I would like to think that in similar circumstances any of the Webbers staff would have done the same.”

Eye is sure that many of our agency readers have similar stories. We would love to hear them.