Proud Kirkby parents praise boy who bought homeless man McDonald's breakfast

And for people sleeping rough and homeless, this can be deadly.

But for one Kirkby youngster this concern has not gone unnoticed, after he went out of his way to make sure a homeless man was well-fed and warm at a McDonald’s restaurant.

Ethan Cater, aged 9, was at the Sutton food outlet with his mum Justine and dad Guy, when the family spotted a man who appeared to be homeless “going through the bins”.

Sympathetic Ethan did not want to see the homeless man go hungry, and so he asked his parents if he could give the man his breakfast to make sure he was fed – to the “jaw-dropping” surprise of his mum and dad.

The proud parents could not see their son go without breakfast himself, so they happily bought the man a McDonald’s meal and a coffee and spoke to him at length about his life.

Guy has told the story of his son and his “proud parent moment”, in a bid to raise awareness about homelessness during this time of year.

He said: “We were sat in Sutton McDonald’s eating breakfast when a homeless man walks in.

“He was in the branch for about 10 minutes and he walked out with just a coffee, and Ethan had noticed that he was outside going through the bins.

“Bearing in mind the weather is cold, wet and windy, Ethan asks us if he could give the chap his breakfast.

“My wife Justine and I looked at each other and I jumped up to go and get the man to come back inside, and Ethan brought him a McDonald’s breakfast meal.

“The homeless guy was the nicest person you could ever meet.

“Ethan put a hot meal in a very thankful person’s belly and he couldn't stop saying thank you.

“It was such a heartwarming moment seeing my nine-year-old son picking up the slack where local authorities fail.

“We shouldn’t take what we have for granted. If you have enough spare, even if it’s just a hot drink, lend a hand because it’s going to get colder out there.”