RICHMOND MD Michael Nobes was dubbed the King of Hearts after splashing out to save a stranded motorist - even though she was NOT his customer.

Mum Sharon Dewison had her Freelander recovered and repaired FREE OF CHARGE after the garage she bought it from went bust. The King of Cars leapt into action as administrators and creditors fought over the vehicle, leaving poor Sharon without transport for her two kids and disabled mum.

Mr Nobes settled an unpaid £600 bill for parts and sent service manager Mark Henly to plea with administrators to release the car. Five hours of negotiations ended with Mark and Sharon pushing the car out of a workshop, after Mark had enlisted the help of former employees of collapsed Renault dealership Autoplanet.

Back at Richmond's Renault Authorised Service Centre in West Quay Road, Southampton, Mark's team found a string of faults as well as the broken fuel injectors Sharon had been told about.

Bulbs were missing, there was too much oil and the spare tyre was illegal. His Majesty's Road Tester Barry Cox noticed a hissing sound, which was caused by a pipe rubbing on a bracket due to a broken clip.

But fixing all that wasn't enough for The King. His Majesty ordered a Royal Valet (that's a car valet, not his footman) and the Freelander was then covered in F1 Ceramic Coat, meaning Sharon won't even have to polish it to keep it gleaming like new.

Tearful Sharon, of Shirley, Southampton, said yesterday: "I'm completely overwhelmed. I've heard about customer service but this goes beyond all that - I wasn't even a Richmond customer. He really is the King of Hearts."