A Lancaster man has shared his story of a Christmas act of kindness to a homeless man hoping it will inspire others.
Ben Hornby treated a busker to lunch, a pint and a few games of pool in a local pub, and then did some shopping for him in Lancaster city centre.
He said the man, known as AK, was so grateful he was in tears and said Ben was the "first person to put a smile on his face this year".
Ben, 36, who lives in Bolton-le-Sands, was given the idea by a post he saw on Facebook last Christmas about a man who randomly paid for a woman's shopping in a supermarket.
"This time last year, I was on Facebook on the Lancaster Past and Present group, and a woman posted a note, which read something along the lines of 'To the gentleman who passed me in the checkout at Aldi and beeped his card and paid for my shopping, that was a beautiful thing you did. I'm so appreciative'," said Ben, pictured below.
"The thread talked about people doing nice things at Christmas, and it really resonated with me. All year I thought, I want to do something like that, I want to do something good.
"A couple of weeks ago I had the idea. It stuck with me. I was going back and forth a little bit. I wondered if it was a bit much and will it go to plan? But I stuck with it.
"I work at the Nat West bank on Church Street and sometimes there are some homeless people that sit outside the back of TK Maxx.
"There was one guy sat out there and I thought this was a brilliant opportunity. So at lunchtime I went over to him and said 'Do you fancy going for a pint and a game of pool, and I'll buy you some lunch?'
"He said 'yeah'.
"So we went to The Bobbin for an hour or so, had a pint and a few games of pool. Then we went up to Greggs, grabbed him a sandwich and a coffee, and from there just to Poundland to pick him up some essentials, he wanted some deodorant and some plasters, I got him a few bags of crisps and a few bits and pieces really.
"Then he met one of his friends just outside Poundland, so I gave him the bag and said 'Merry Christmas' and that was it.
"He said his name was AK. I think he was quite well known. He said he's been in and around Lancaster for the best part of 30 years, busking. He had a guitar.
"I think he was a bit shocked initially. I don't think he thought I was serious when I said 'do you want to come for a pint?' He was pretty quiet to begin with. Then when we started playing pool he started to open up and he was lovely, a really nice guy. He told me a bit about his life, where he'd lived and what he'd done.
"To see AK tearful and hearing him tell me I was the first person to put a smile on his face this year was an amazing feeling.
"I didn't expect how it made me feel afterwards. It gave me a real sense of satisfaction, and proud of myself in a lot of ways."
Ben said he hopes that by sharing his story, other people will be inspired to carry out similar acts of kindness.
"Seeing the post last year inspired me, stuck with me all year and didn't leave me.
"I thought that by putting it out there, if I can get just one other person to do something nice, it will be a win.
"I’m 100 per cent going to do this again next year."
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