A university
student who publicly praised a bus driver after he stopped his vehicle
and presented a shivering homeless man with a warm winter coat has
helped to make him an internet hero.
Anna
Marie McDaniel, who studies at St Mary's University College in Belfast,
sparked a wave of responses hailing the driver a 'fantastic human
being' after she revealed the heart-warming gesture.
She
took to Facebook last night to reveal how Paul Doyle pulled over the
10H Translink
bus in the city to give the man – wearing only a
short-sleeved T-shirt – the coat.
She said she
had 'never seen a smile like it' after the homeless man gratefully
received the item of clothing from Mr Doyle – on a day when the city
centre was lashed with torrential rain.
In
her post revealing the bus driver's kind actions, Ms McDaniel said: 'I
get the same bus every Tuesday and there is always a homeless man that
we pass.
'Today he was standing in the pouring rain, drenched to the skin in just a short sleeved t-shirt. My heart went out to him.
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| Student AnnaMarie McDaniel |
'The
bus man driving the 10H that I was on stopped the bus beside the man
and called him over. He then hands him a big plastic bag and told him
that he was hoping to see him today - he'd bought him a winter coat.
'The
man refused to take the bag, but the driver was adamant that the man
take it as he had gone out and bought it for him. I have never seen a
smile like the one on the homeless man's face.'
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The driver pulled over the number 10H Translink bus during his daily route in Belfast city centre
She added:
'Couldn't believe how kind the bus driver was, such a thoughtful act. A
little bit of kindness really can go a long way.'
The
post has been liked more than 62,000 times and has attracted a wave of
comments hailing Mr Doyle, who has been a bus driver for 20 years, an
'amazing' man.
Reta
Olphert responded: 'A lovely man, we could take from this act of
kindness and do something ourself (sic) and do likewise. If we did our
world would be a better place for all.'
Meanwhile,
Alice Nixon said his kind act 'made him a credit to the bus company',
while Eve Handley said: 'When you read things like this it makes you
feel there is hope for us all yet.'
Barbara Gould added: 'How wonderful is this man to do that for the homeless man. You have my full respect.'
Marian
Gallagher-Jones said: 'Fantastic human being. Love it!' And Tricia Ryan
wrote: 'Ahh restores your faith in human kindness …'
Ms McDaniel
later revealed she stopped and spoke to the bus driver before she got
off because the gesture was the 'sweetest thing' she had ever seen.
She told the Belfast Telegraph:
'I wanted to let the driver know that I thought what he did was the
sweetest thing I've ever seen anybody do. So I spoke to him before I got
off the bus.
'I wanted him to know how much the wonderful thing he had done had meant to me.'
Speaking
today, Michael Dornan, Metro driver representative for Unite, said Mr
Doyle was a 'very laid back, reserved and quiet person' and said he had
been stunned by the huge outpouring.
He told Belfast Live: 'He told me he had repeatedly seen this young man standing in terrible conditions with no coat and his clothes were very thin.
'This
particular day he just said he thought he would try and help and look
after him. He put it [the coat] in a bag with some food.
'The young lad got very emotional and broke down.'
He added: 'He is very humble and he is taken aback by the amount of people who have responded to it.'
A Translink spokesman said: 'We commend our colleague on this act of kindness for someone in need.'
Daily Mail
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