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A heart-warming post about a polite homeless man giving up his seat on the bus went viral after its author said he hopes it will make people think twice about helping people who live on the streets.

Michael Evans, 27, was shocked when he witnessed a bus driver refusing to change a homeless man's change for a note to make it easier for him to get a hostel for the night.

The trainee recruitment consultant had previously seen the homeless man insist on giving up his seat for both a woman with a pram and an elderly man during the bus journey from Liverpool city centre to Anfield.

(Image: Mercury)

Michael gave the man, called Mark, £20 in exchange for his change - and his Facebook post documenting the encounter has racked up more than 61,000 likes.

He said: "When I saw how nice and kind Mark was, just a general decent person, it really did make me feel quite happy.

"It is very rare to see that kind of behaviour on a bus as most people are too caught up on their smartphones, texting away or listening to music - myself included most of the time!

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"It is nice to see people being nice, not for personal gain - simply for the sake of being nice."

Although Michael is currently paying off debts and saving for a wedding to his fiancee Andrea Nally in Dublin after the pair got engaged in August, he said he always tries to help where he can.

He admitted he could not afford to give Mark the whole £20 as he needed to use the change to travel to and from work.

Michael, who lives in Liverpool, said: "I gave Mark the money because I felt like he deserved it - no matter how hard his day was he wasn't taking it out on anyone, he was being a very nice gentleman.

(Image: Mercury)

"The bus driver didn't go out of his way to be mean and he wasn't nasty or aggressive.

"However, I don't believe he showed any empathy or sympathy to Mark. He wasn't asking for donations, he simply requested the driver change his money so things could be easier for him through the night.

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"I shared the post because it was a nice thing to see on a Friday night. I never thought it would escalate like this - I simply posted a good story to make people smile after a long hard week.

"I really hope it makes people think about the way they interact with those who are less fortunate than themselves.

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"Most of the comments have been really nice, but 10% have been negative - calling me a glory hunter and saying I was posting for likes.

"The way I look at it, even if 10% of the people who liked it decided that this week they would give someone in need an extra couple of pounds, buy them a hot drink or food than there's a lot of good that has come from my little gesture."

