A woman who was helped by a homeless man when she found herself stranded more than 50 miles from home has raised nearly £10,000 to say thank you.

Nicole Sedgebeer missed her last train home from London to Milton Keynes after a night out with friends on Thursday March 3 and found the gates of Euston station locked.

The 21-year-old said she was “about to burst into drunken tears” when a homeless man called Mark took her under his wing and showed her to an all-night cafe where she could stay safe until the first train the next morning.

After a coffee and a chat, Mark told her he needed to get his sleeping bag but would be back at 5am to walk her to the station. Sharing her experience on Facebook in a post that has since gone viral, she said: “Me being a typical human being I didn’t believe he would come back.”

I hope this story makes people look… – Nicole Sedgebeer | Facebook



But he did. Nicole said: “Not only did he turn up but he had to get a bus to come get me. This man who I probably would of avoided eye contact with if he asked for spare change, completely changed such a negative event into the most eye opening event in my life.”

Mark’s act of kindness inspired Nicole to set up a crowdfunding JustGiving page to raise £8,000 for Mark and to help other homeless people in the same area.

On the page, she wrote: “Mark embodies the best of humanity. He went out of his way to help me, a complete stranger, when the reality of his situation is that people walk past him every day without offering him help. Mark you are one special man, I will never look down on a homeless person again and so want to do something to help Mark and all the other homeless people around Euston.”

There are more than three weeks left until the page fundraising finishes, but she has already raised close to £10,000.