A mother returned to her car from a children's hospital to discover that a mystery benefactor had left her money to pay for parking tickets she had received.

The kind stranger also left 35-year-old Mairi Holden a note saying: "Pay it then forget it happened".

Ms Holden took to Facebook to try to track down and thank the person who left the money tucked in behind the tickets on her pink Honda Jazz car.

They had been issued after she took her unwell son to Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children and had to stay in overnight.

The mother-of-one had parked on the single yellow lines outside the hospital.

Her post quickly went viral as people from around the world were touched by the act of kindness.

In her post, lifestyle coach Ms Holden said: "I would love to find out who did this! I'm still in a lovely feeling of shock!! Please share, maybe I'll be able to get in touch with this beautiful person!

"Oscar had to stay in Sick Kids hospital, Edinburgh, last night, which was really unexpected. (He's all good now).

"Parked outside not thinking we'd be kept in. Came out to two parking tickets this afternoon. Some amazing person, don't know who, left this note and money tucked under one of the tickets!!

"I'm still overwhelmed at the kindness of it. I'll never forget it, and if anyone has any idea of who it could have been, or recognises the writing or note paper, please let me know, I'd love to be able to thank them!

"I have a pink Honda Jazz. How unbelievably kind and thoughtful is that?"

After seeing her post shared more than 11,000 times online, Ms Holden decided to use the attention to set up a Crowdfunding campaign for the hospital, with a £1m target.

She said: "The person who’s done this probably doesn’t know what’s happened and that it’s gone viral. I think it’s probably an older man or woman, from the writing. Just imagine their face when they find out.

"There’s been so many comments from around the world. I’ve set a Crowdfunding because now I'm wondering how far can this act of kindness snowball?

"I just think it’s such a lovely thing to happen, if more people did things like that the world would be a much nicer place.

"I couldn't believe it when I found the money and note. At first I thought maybe it was my mum, but then I remember I hadn't told her I was at the hospital yet, then I thought maybe the traffic warden had had a pang of guilt and come back with the money, but it was two different styles of writing so it couldn't have been the same one.

"Then I was just overwhelmed that a stranger had done this for me. It's so beautiful. I would really like to tell this person how special their action was to me."