A nan has thanked a kind stranger who stepped in when her grandson accidentally stole a toy from a shop.
Unbeknown to his dad, four-year-old Carson Doolan walked out of the B&M store in the Bootle Strand shopping centre with a Christmas toy he'd picked up from the shelves.
The discovery was only made when Carson's dad, Mark, was unexpectedly called in to work and called Carson's nan to look after him.
When Carson's nan, Anne Spencer, realised what had happened, she straightaway marched the four-year-old back to the store so he could return the toy and apologise for taking it.
Anne, 52, said: "My grandson went in with his dad when he got a call to go into work, so he brought him to me in another shop.
"It wasn't until he handed him over to me he that we realised that he had walked out of the shop with a toy.
"I took my grandson back to B&M so he could apologise for taking the toy and hand it back. My grandson was distraught, sobbing his eyes out, when this lovely guy came over and bought the toy for him."
She added: "I took him back to the shop to give it back because he's got to learn that you can't just take anything that you want without paying for it.
"I wasn't brought up that way, my children weren't and I don't want my grandchildren brought up that way.
"This complete stranger came over and asked what was the matter? He said, 'do you want it love? I'll buy it for him. I've got kids of my own.'
"I was speechless. Normally I'd have said 'no.' Carson doesn't go without, and his mum and dad both work.
"Carson had a big smile on his face and there were tears running down his cheeks.
"I don't know how much the toy cost, but even if it was 99p I can't thank him enough."
The man who bought the Paw Patrol toy for little Carson yesterday (Friday) is known only as "Michael" and is thought to be a security officer at the B&M store.
Anne, from Litherland, said: "I don't know if my grandson learnt his lesson but would like to thank him very much for making Carson and me so happy."
