A West Belfast taxi driver has been praised for a kind-hearted gesture to his passengers that has left his family "hugely proud".
Gerard Maxwell, from Clonard, works as a taxi driver for Value Cabs and this week he decided to ease the pressure on those feeling the squeeze amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Instead of taking money for fares from his passengers, dad-of-four Gerard, 52, covered them for the day and told them to use the money towards their electric and gas bills instead.
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It's a gesture that has impressed his whole family including proud daughter, Chloé, 20 who told Belfast Live: "On Tuesday, my daddy, a taxi driver, went out to work and every person he picked up in his car, he never charged them any money.
"He told them to use the money to put into their electric and gas and I think that was very good of him. He made so many people happy and they couldn't get over it"
Gerard's wife Máire said: "Before Gerard was a taxi driver he worked with the elderly for about 15 years. He has always had a caring nature and work was never just work to Gerard. He has always found ways to make everyone's lives better.
"Obviously we know that everyone is struggling at the minute so he just said to me the other day that he'd like to do something a bit different and step in to help someone.
"He never knows who is going to get from job to job but every person that day who got into his car was told the same thing, 'Put the money into your gas and electric instead'.
"It was quite a busy day for him on Tuesday too and that pleased him even more because he was able to help more people than he would have on a normal day.
"It doesn't matter to him what side of the community you're from because he was all over Belfast that day so everyone benefitted. In Gerard's words 'we're all in this together so why not give someone a helping hand'.
"He's just so humble and he never looks for anything in return. He has already said that he'd like to do it a few more days in the run-up to Christmas so he can take the pressure off a few more people."
She added: "The customers were all overwhelmed and said no-one had ever done anything like this for them before. They were so taken aback because he never told them about it until the end of the journey.
"They were saying 'no you're a taxi man and have overheads like everybody else' but he just said to them 'I'll be fine. The first passenger he picked up that morning was someone just coming out of hospital so there he was stepping in to help them straight away.
"Just like the passengers, as a family we were so touched by his generosity and it gives hope that there's still some good people in the world."
For Chloé, seeing her dad's generous nature is nothing new.
"Whenever we go shopping, he's always paying for other people's messages and they are always so grateful," she explained.
"I've been with him in the queue in a shop and he's seen someone he thinks could do with a wee bit of a helping hand and he'll pay for them and then walk away.
"He doesn't think twice, he just does it and doesn't realise how many lives he touches. My family and I are all so proud of him."
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