Riley Duffy's mission to Help The Homeless

For her caring nine-year-old son is forever asking her for coins to help homeless people he spots on the streets.

In a bid to nurture his thoughtful nature, his mum arranged a visit to the Help The Homeless soup kitchen in Glasgow.

Two weeks ago, they set off on the train from Linlithgow – armed with sandwich bags full of goodies Riley had made up at home.

Angeline said: “I asked him on the train on the way through why it was so important to him. He said he was aware that he is lucky as he has a lot of stuff while others have very little.

“On the way to the soup kitchen, Riley was handing out the bags to homeless people all the way along the street – I had to remind him to keep some back.”

Riley’s efforts were celebrated by the charity online with a post on Facebook.

Staff at St Mary’s Primary School in Bo’ness, where he is a P5 pupil, also toasted the youngster with a special award and he’ll soon share his experiences with the rest of the school at assembly.

Dad Phil said: “Riley can’t pass anyone who’s homeless without asking his mum to get her purse out.

“It says a lot about a nine-year-old when they know just how lucky they are and, equally, that there are people who’re not so well off. We're very proud of him.”

Riley, who has three older sisiters – Robyn (24), Larissa (22) and Mackenzie (19) – has already asked to lend Help The Homeless another helping hand this winter.