A kind-hearted security guard who spotted an elderly man struggling to pay for his shopping stepped in and handed over the money to the cashier.

Louis Pierre Yonsian, a guard at the Aldi store in Irlams o’ th’ Height in Salford, watched as the shopper, who was in his 80s, could not find the money to pay for a single bed sheet and a few other items.

He heard the pensioner say: ‘I’ll have to come back tomorrow’ and at that moment Louis came to the rescue and handed over a £20 note to pay for the shopping.

Housewife Jane Phillips, 56, from Salford, witnessed the generous gesture and said: “I could have cried when I saw him do that, it was really moving.

“I was just in the queue having done a bit of shopping and security guard was helping an older chap with a walking stick.

“The sheet was brought to him but I think when he saw the price he said he’d come back tomorrow.

“The security guard just handed it over to the girl on the till and said ‘I will pay for it all’.

“There wasn’t a lot, just a few items, but it was so wonderful and lovely.”

Modest Louis, 42, said that although his role primarily focuses on security, it was also his job to make sure that shoppers at the branch, had a good in-store experience.

(Image: Dan Rowlands/Mercury Press)

Louis, from Blackley, said: “I like to help customers when they need it and make people comfortable when they’re in the store.

“When I saw this particularly regular customer I just thought about my father and grandfather and if either of them needed something and didn’t have the money that day.

“He was really surprised and said ‘thank-you, God bless you’.”

Liam Griffiths, operations director at Maybank Security which provides security for the store, said he was incredibly proud of what Louis did.

Liam said: “We try to instil to all our staff about customer service but this is going far and beyond.

“That’s not what he’s there for but it’s a lovely gesture – fair play to him. I’m very, very proud of him.”