Postcards delivered to Big Issue North seller's pitch Published duration 10 May 2019

image copyright BIG ISSUE NORTH image caption Simon said he was continually grateful for the support and help of his customers

A Big Issue North seller says he has been "really moved" by postcards his customers have sent him from their holidays abroad.

The postcards were delivered directly to his town centre pitch in Harrogate by a postal worker.

Simon, 41, said it had "meant so much" to him that people in the town had been so supportive of him.

He began selling the magazine after becoming homeless when he split with his girlfriend.

The postcards, some from Australia and New Zealand, were delivered to his pitch by postie Peter Nichols, despite being addressed simply to: "Simon, Big Issue seller, Oxford Street."

Simon said: "It literally means that people are thinking about me on the other side of the world.

"It moved me, it really moved me."

image copyright BIG ISSUE NORTH image caption Postal worker Peter Nichols knew exactly how to find Simon

Royal Mail said Mr Nichols was a "bastion of the local community" and his deliveries to Simon were an example of his "continual service above and beyond the call of duty".

Simon, who was originally from Wakefield, moved to Harrogate more than a decade ago with his then girlfriend.

But when they split he was left homeless and jobless.

"I tried to get other forms of employment after working as a roofer, but I was relatively new to Harrogate when I moved over all those years ago," he said.

Simon said selling the Big Issue North had helped keep his "head above water" and "kept the money coming in".

He was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which means he had to cut his hours.

"I try not to think too much about the future, I take every day as it comes," he said.

Big Issue North is an independent street paper and vendors buy each magazine for £1.25, before selling them on the streets for £2.50.