A 10-YEAR-OLD youngster has saved Christmas for the homeless.

Billy Higham has made sure a festive meal for homeless people across Bolton will be served up after the charity he helps faced cancelling it this year.

Billy, of Astley Bridge, has been volunteering at Hope4homeless since April.

When he heard that their Christmas meal could be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, he asked his mum to put an appeal out on Facebook for a new venue and helpers.

Liberal Democrat campaigner Warren Fox saw the appeal and offered the charity All Souls Church, in Astley Street, for the occasion. He said: “This is all down to Billy. I just saw the post on Facebook, put two and two together and thought we have this fantastic building here. And what it will be used for is exactly what All Souls represents.”

The St John The Evangelist school pupil said he wanted to help the homeless after bad weather in January last year.

He said: “There was a thunderstorm and it was really bad and I felt sorry for the homeless people outside.”

Now Billy collects clothes for the homeless every two weeks and takes it to the Hope4homeless shop in Tonge Moor Road.

After Billy’s mum put the appeal on Facebook, donors and volunteers came forward to help make the Christmas party take place for 50 homeless people on December 22.

Billy added: “They had been let down and I didn’t want them to be on their own for Christmas”.

Organisations will donate food, drinks and their services on the day. Entertainment will also be provided by comedian Ben Lawes. Guests will also be given a shoebox of gifts after Billy launched a reverse Christmas advent calendar appeal — instead of taking a goodie out of a calendar, Billy has asked people to put something into a shoebox.

Founder of Hope4homeless Jamillah Rashid said: “Billy is amazing. I can never thank him enough for what he does for us. Everyone should follow his example.”

Volunteer Billa Ahmed said: “Homelessness is getting worse. And there are a lot of working class people that are walking a very fine line at the moment. They say someone can be as little as two pay cheques away from being homeless and I would say it is more like one now.”

Billy’s mum, Angela Higham, of Hill Cot Road, in Astley Bridge, added: “I am very proud of him. His desire to help people was just born in him.”

“I tell him this is all started because of him and he says ‘no it all started because God made that thunderstorm’ which made me do it”.

To volunteer or to drop off a gift-filled shoebox, contact Hope4homeless on info@hope4homeless.co.uk or by contacting: 07973 214603 or 07504 727051.