Tourists take Edinburgh homeless man to Sweden for Christmas

An Edinburgh homeless man has told of the “incredible act of kindness” of two Swedish tourists who invited him to their home for Christmas.

Jimmy Fraser was begging on George Street when he was asked for directions by Annis Lindkvist and her sister Emma.

They struck up a friendship during their trip and swapped numbers before flying home to Sagmyra.

Mr Fraser said: “The next thing I knew I was on a plane to Sweden.”

The 54-year-old said Mrs Lindkvist got him a passport and paid for his flights so he could spend a week over Christmas with her family.

Mr Fraser, who moved to Edinburgh 13 years ago after divorce left him homeless, said the trip had been like a dream.

The former security guard and father-of-two, who is originally from Lanark, said: “It’s weird, I know. I was begging on George Street and these two women came up to me and the next thing I knew I was in Sweden.

“People promise you things all the time on the street but they never materialise and friends said I shouldn’t go in case I was hung, drawn and quartered when I got there.

“But I thought I’m going to go for it as its once-in-a- lifetime. On the plane I was so nervous and was worrying if they would be there waiting for me or if I would be shot. Instead it was a beautiful experience, the family was tremendous.”

He added: “Annis is such a wonderful, kind and generous person and I wish everyone was like her. Being homeless is cold, lonely and depressing and you get a lot of abuse from people.

“This was an incredible act of kindness and I loved meeting Annis’ friends, family and colleagues. I wish I was there now.”

Mr Fraser flew out on 21 December and returned on 27 December. During the trip he was taken to an ice hockey match, Christmas markets, midnight Mass and to meet all Mrs Lindkvist’s family, friends and colleagues.

Mrs Lindkvist lives in the Swedish town of Sagmyra with her husband Daniel and three children, aged 13, eight and five.

The 37-year-old, who works in a retirement home for people with dementia, said she has been calling Mr Fraser every day since he returned to the capital.

She said: “I have never felt like this before for a homeless person. My mother was crying and crying when he left and my children have been asking every day when he is going to come back.

“There is a big place in my heart for him. I had had my doubts about it but I sat up late one night when he was here and spoke to him about it. I could have been a killer just like he could have been but I just had a feeling in my stomach that he was a really nice person.

“We give money to charity every month but we have never done anything like this before. There were friends and family who thought I was really crazy but I just opened my home to him and said everything that is ours was his too.”

Mrs Lindkvist said she had invited Mr Fraser back for Easter and described him as “part of the family now”. A kind-hearted homeless man has been flooded with job offers and donations after selflessly returning a bag of shopping worth hundreds of pounds he found in a phonebox.

The man, only named as Gary, found the £140 suit along with other items from Greenwoods Menswear store in Liverpool on Friday night.

Gary, who is in desperate need of medical attention after being beaten up by cruel thugs just weeks before, rang the store in a bid to try and find the owner.

Les, store manager of Greenwoods, told The Mirror: “A homeless chap rang the store saying he had found someone’s shopping. Usually, we have no way of knowing who the owner is but the lad’s friend had left his number as he’d enquired about part-time work.

“We rang Gary back and we said we would ring this chap’s friend. He then met the owner of the suit to give it back to him personally.

“He could have sold it, he didn’t. It’s absolutely amazing that he even rang us. And it’s incredible how it worked out. It’s almost fate.

“The owner has said how happy he is - it brings a smile to our faces.”

After being reunited with his goods, Lewis Roberts shared the story on Facebook in a post praising the man’s actions.

He said: “Gary found my shopping I had left in Liverpool and got in touch with the store to get it back to me... as despite being homeless he still returned my items which could have easily been sold on.”

Gary, who weighs just nine stone, said: “The reason I gave the shopping back is because the guy bought that suit for a reason - for a wedding, a funeral, a party - and I wanted him to be reunited with it. I know I could have sold it but that’s not the person I am. I am nothing special though. I just did what was right.”

After a fundraising page was set up for Gary, support has gone “through the roof” for the rough sleeper with people desperate to donate.

Darren Galvin created the GoFundMe page , which has raised over a thousand pounds, after seeing Lewis’s heartwarming Facebook post.

Darren said: “I set up the GoFundMe page to get a bit of help for Gary, a deposit on a flat, clothes etc, but I’ve been inundated with offers from the whole of Liverpool to help him get on his feet.

“I’ve been wanting to help the homeless and this story was so incredible it spurred me on to actually do something.

“I didn’t realise it would get so big. At first people were sceptical about whether the story was real or fake but Greenwoods confirmed it happened.”

But Darren revealed that despite the generous offers, Gary is still finding it hard to find accommodation and has been met with a “stone wall”.

Only last week the heartwarming moment a homeless family saw their new home for the first time was shared on social media.

Mum Mandy Brown and her three young kids were ecstatic after being shown their new apartment, decorated and furnished by Pontiac-based homeless and abuse charity Humble Design, after struggling to find a place to live.

“That’s the one thing I want to bring to the story. Me, as a nonhomeless guy has really struggled to find accommodation for him.

“The waiting lists for hostels are so full and getting a flat is near impossible as it’s such an awkward process to get anything sorted it’s very much a no-win situation as he has no address so he can’t get housing benefit and even if he were to most landlords don’t accept it,” Darren said.

He is overwhelmed by the amount of support Gary has received after sharing his story on social media.

“It’s phenomenal. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s become a celebrity on the streets of Liverpool with people throwing money at him. But he doesn’t want it. He’s a proud man and instead wants to give back.

“That’s the type of guy we’re dealing with. A lady gave him £20 in the street the other day and he shared it with a fellow homeless man.