A mum has hit out at McDonald’s claiming she was prevented from buying a homeless man a burger because staff were ‘trying to get rid of him’.

The woman says she was told through the drive-thru window that she wasn’t allowed to order the soaking wet pensioner a meal or even a hot drink in case it encouraged him to stay.

The shocking incident reportedly took place at the fast food restaurant in Harpurhey on Sunday.

In a complaint posted on McDonald’s Facebook page, the mum voiced her disgust questioning “what on earth is the world coming to when we stop caring for other humans?”

The woman said she had spotted the ‘frail’ and ‘old’ man sat outside in the rain and wanted to do something to help.

After ordering Happy Meals for her children, she then asked for a burger meal for him but was refused and instead had to drive to KFC to get him a hot meal.

Her post read: “Tried to buy a very frail old homeless pensioner a burger meal yesterday who was sat outside in the cold and rain shivering begging for food because he was so hungry.

“I was told at Harpurhey McDonald’s that they would not be selling me any food for the elderly man.

“I was apparently ‘allowed’ to purchase a happy meal for my children but no food or hot drinks for the homeless man because ‘they were trying to get rid of him and if I feed him he will stay’.

“I find this absolutely appalling, and this was certainly not a communication error as I asked again at the window if I could please buy a meal for the homeless pensioner.

“I had to drive across to KFC just to buy the man a hot meal and a cup of tea. The weather outside has been freezing recently and this man was not even inside the premises, he was shivering outside.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

“Whatever has caused the man to end up in such a dire situation is none of my business, but surely as human beings the least we can do is provide somebody with a basic need.

“I was more than willing to pay for the meal as stated. I just regret that the lady on the speaker must have overheard me asking the man what he would like.

“Their rude tone and their lack of compassion completely shocked me.

“What on earth is the world coming to when we stop caring for other humans? Extremely disappointed McDonald’s, and very upset.”

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McDonald’s responded to the comment urging the woman to provide more details so it could be looked into.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “We would like to reassure readers there is no policy in place which prohibits service to homeless individuals, or those wishing to purchase food on their behalf.

"However, in some instances, we have been forced to refuse service to those wishing to buy food for individuals who have repeatedly displayed disruptive behaviour in our restaurants and towards our colleagues.

"We regret when this has to happen, but reiterate it is done so based on an individual’s behaviour and nothing else."