A GENEROUS Helensburgh man has launched a fund-raising campaign to help support an armed forces veteran who has fallen on hard times.

Anders Gillies met the veteran – who goes by the name of Mike - outside the town’s Co-operative Food store earlier this month.

Following the meeting, Anders decided to set up a GoFundMe page in the hope that he could raise enough money to help him get off the streets permanently.

So far, the 22-year-old has raised more than £1,200.

Anders said: “I was told by my mum that there was a homeless man outside the Co-op. I asked her what his situation was, and whether or not anyone had spoken to him.

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“She said she’d been told before that he was in the forces. That’s when I thought, okay, if he says he served in the forces, I need to go and help him.

“So I thought, let’s try and get him into a hotel room. That’s when we started talking and it turned out that he was a super friendly guy.”

Anders explained the situation that Mike found himself in, and why he felt he needed to step in and help.

He explained: “He was trying to get to sleep covered in soaking wet blankets. He was quite reluctant [to get help] at first.

“We had the car with us so we offered to give him a lift along [to a hotel] but he was quite reluctant.

“Whether that was because of things that had happened in the past, or maybe it was because of his current state, I’m not sure.”

The reason for Mike finding himself on the streets is currently unknown, but having spoken with him regularly, Anders believes it is due to a number of factors.

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He said: “I did ask him a few details about his past and how all this came to be.

“The main thing was that he has been homeless ever since his partner kicked him out which he said was in 2009. He came home one day and the locks where changed. Ever since then, he’s been on his own.

“He then went on to say that his mother died a few years ago as well, so everything went downhill from there.

“I didn’t want to push him too hard on things like that, though. We didn’t want to make him feel too overwhelmed. We just want to ease him in.”

The GoFundMe page that Anders set up has generated plenty of local social media interest, which he hopes will support Mike when he eventually secures himself a home.

He said: “The GoFundMe is to help support him once the council take over or if they stop supporting him.

“It is a safety net, effectively. However, I have spoken to some charities on the best possible method to deliver the funds to ensure it is put to the best possible use for him.”

To find the fund-raising page and add your donation, go to gofundme.com and search for ‘Help Mike Off the Streets’.

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