A mum who was doing her shopping in Aldi with her two children has spoken out after a kind-hearted stranger went out of his way to help her while she was buying groceries.
While putting items in her trolley at the budget supermarket, Francesca Jay realised she could only afford to spend £50 on her shopping. This was meant for herself and her two children Sophie, seven, and William, four, Manchester Evening News reports.
Once she had done her shopping she went to the till. She said her total never usually adds up to £50 but this time, after putting her goods on the conveyor belt, a sinking feeling encapsulated her and she realised the total price was rising higher than she thought.
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The mum-of-two had to ask the cashier to stop scanning the items she had put on the belt. This means she had to leave vegetables, a loaf of bread and a pack of ice lollies which were meant as a treat for her kids in the recent hot weather.
Francesca apologised to the cashier and put the goods she couldn't afford back. However, to her surprise, a kind woman offered to pay for all the shopping she could not afford after seeing the disappointment on Francesca's son's face.
Francesca said: "I went in knowing I only had £50 to shop. I did my shopping, not thinking it would come anywhere near £50 as it never usually does, but as it got nearer at the till I asked the man serving to stop scanning at £50. I said 'I'm sorry and I can't have those so please stop the shop there', to which he did.
"My son was behind me and must have heard me say put the ice lollies back and a lady next to me on the next till came over and said she had seen my sons face drop and would like to pay for them. I thanked her and so did my son but she then saw the other bits of shopping and paid for those too."
She added: "Myself and the man serving kept saying 'are you sure?' and she said that she had been in this situation before and was more than happy to pay for it. I think it came up to about £6. This means the world to me because I have always tried to be nice and kind and have paid for people's stuff before quite a few times."
Francesca said the cost of living crisis has taken its toll on her financially. "I am not financially well off at all; far from it now actually," she said. "But I really try to be kind all the time and almost lost faith in humanity because I always seem to get shot down. For someone to help in small ways makes you feel so so elated. She didn't have to do that but I could tell it was genuine generosity.
"I hadn't got a penny left in my account so I was so happy I could get those few extra bits, especially as my niece comes for tea every week. I think especially with everything being that bit more expensive, a single mum like me on benefits in my circumstances feels the pinch even more so it truly meant so so much to me."
Francesca posted on social media to share the kind gesture in hopes of tracking down the woman to express her thanks properly.
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