A homeless man came to the rescue after a diner was turned away from a fancy restaurant because of his sandals.

Akbar Badshah was supposed to be celebrating his wife’s birthday - and also breaking his fast on the first day of Ramadan.

He and his wife Rozmin had booked a table at upmarket Brazilian diner Fazenda in the city centre’s Spinningfields district - and had travelled all the way from their home in Queensbury, Yorkshire, to celebrate their special meal.

But Akbar, a 36-year-old optician, says he was caught short when staff explained he couldn’t get in wearing his black plastic open-toed shoes.

Thankfully help was at hand in the shape of homeless man John, who was sitting with his labrador on Deansgate.

When Akbar enquired if he could borrow his shoes - John immediately handed over the pair of shoes without hesitation and refused to take any money in return for the gesture.

John’s generous actions meant Akbar and his wife were able to enjoy their meal as planned.

Speaking to the MEN, Man City fan Akbar said: “We left the restaurant and I got chatting to this homeless fellow John on Deansgate.

“I said, ‘John what size are you’ he said ‘14’,

“I’m a size 9 so it’s a good job it wasn’t the other way round.

“He said, ‘you won’t believe this, but I’ve got a brand new pair of shoes from an outreach project’, and he said I could borrow them, so we swapped shoes.”

After finishing their meal at Fazenda, Akbar and Rozmin went back to see John to say thanks, and to return the shoes he had borrowed off him.

Akbar tried to offer John £10 as a way of saying thank you, but John refused, saying he was happy to help him.

It took several attempts to hand over the money, after Akbar reiterated how thankful he was.

He said: “He wouldn’t take it. I said ‘please, please I want to give it to you.”

It seems karma was on John’s side, as right at that moment a man in his 50s walked past after hearing their conversation, stroked John’s labrador and handed him another £50 note.

Akbar added: “John couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable karma.

“He kept saying he didn’t want anything in return. I gave John a hug and we took some photos together – we just felt so touched by what he had done.”