I would like to thank an unknown girl from Manikata and her mother who kindly rescued my wife and me from an isolated village.

We visited Notte Bianca in Valletta on September 29 and wished to return to Golden Bay on the last scheduled bus at 10.40pm. We boarded a 44 bus in Valletta and expected to be delivered safely to our hotel.

The bus arrived at Mġarr at 11.30pm and the driver brusquely told us that he was going no further, saying something incomprehensible about waiting for a shuttle service.

There was no advance warning (indeed, I had earlier e-mailed Arriva, expecting additional services for Notte Bianca, rather than less) and I have not had any explanation or apology from them.

We were not the only passengers to be surprised by this early termination. Those who were included a teenage girl who had expected the bus to take her to Manikata rather than be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Fortunately, she had her mobile phone and was able to wake her mother up, who came to collect her and, very kindly, gave us a lift to Golden Bay.

We never got her name but would like to thank her publicly for being a Good Samaritan to rescue us from the ravages of Arriva, who did not arrive!