Random acts of kindness help restore our faith in humanity, but one mum has been slammed online for being upset with her son over his decision to pay for a stranger’s meal.

The 31-year-old man explained in a Reddit post that he had taken his mum, 61, out to lunch when another mum and her young son sat down on the table next to them.

During their time at the restaurant, the man observed the other woman helping an older lady to the bathroom while still keeping an eye on her own son – and decided to reward her kindness with a good deed of his own.

He said: “I went out to lunch with my mum today. We went to a nice bistro; prices are reasonable, and the food is good. As we're tucking into our starter a mother and her son sit down on the table next to us.

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“During our main an old lady was struggling to get to the ladies’ room, so the mother got up and offered to help her without a second thought. She took the old lady to the bathroom, waited with her then brought her back to the table.

“To me, it was clear the mother loved her son so much. It was in the way she looked at him and cared for him. I also saw she let him have whatever he wanted while she made reserved choices for herself.

“It might be because she genuinely only wanted that, or she had a tight budget, either way that makes no difference to my final decision.”

The man then pulled a waitress to one side to tell her he was going to pay for the woman’s meal – and did so anonymously.

He added: “I am by no means well off, but I have been working crazy 45 hour weeks and I have some extra cash kicking around.

“I thought I could buy myself some chocolate or a video game with that money, but I wanted to do something kind instead.

“So I pulled the waitress aside and told her I wanted to pay for their meal. It wasn't a big tab, £30 for the two of them. My mum and I's came to more.

“The waitress was shocked but delighted, making sure I was certain. I assured her I was, and I paid for their meal.

“I also told her to just tell them an anonymous stranger just wanted to do them a kindness. She thanked me and my mum and I left.”

But when the man left the restaurant, he was slammed by his mum for potentially “embarrassing” the woman with his kind gesture.

The man said: “This is where mum and I came to blows.

“She said it was a d**k move because I may have embarrassed the poor woman, and that she might not want the pity of strangers so I should have asked first.

“She also said some other unkind things about wondering why I would pay for a stranger's meal in the first place.

“I argued back that I hadn't done it to be thanked or make it seem like I had cash to burn.

“I saw a loving mother who was treating her son, who herself seemed kind and selfless. I merely wanted to be kind.

“Sometimes an act of kindness can make a difficult day bad or make your week seem better. There is so much c**p in the world right now, I just wanted to do something kind.”

The man then asked fellow Reddit users if they thought he did the right thing.

One person wrote: “You did a lovely thing for a stranger, I've no idea why your mum had an issue with you doing this.”

While another said: “Your mum should be proud she raised such a caring and kind child.”

And a third posted: “You did such a generous good deed in paying it forward. I commend you for helping a stranger out of the kindness of your heart.”