Danielle McCarthy
Caring

Dying neighbour leaves girl 14 years' worth of Christmas presents

Although Christmas is a time of generosity and love, one neighbour has taken gift giving to another level after making sure he did one last selfless act of kindness before passing away.

Ken, who was in his late 80s, lived next door to Owen and Caroline Williams for the past two years in Glamorgan, Wales in the UK.

The couple said Ken “doted” on their two-year-old daughter Cadi.

Recently, Ken sadly passed away and on Monday, Owen and Caroline received a knock on their door from his daughter.

"She was clutching this big ... plastic sack and I thought it was rubbish she was going to ask me to throw out," Owen told the BBC.

"But she said it was everything her dad had put away for Cadi. It was all of the Christmas presents he had bought for her.

"I brought it back in and my wife was on FaceTime to her mum in Ireland. My wife started to tear up and I started to tear up, and her mum started to tear up.

"It's difficult describing it because it was so unexpected. I don't know how long he put them away whether it was over the last two years or whether he bought them towards the end of his life."

Owen said Cadi had opened her first present from Ken, a sweet children’s book about Christmas.

"We can tell there's some books, there's three or four soft toys, maybe some Duplo," he added.

Owen said Ken, who was a retired commercial deep sea diver, was a “real, real character”.

The touching tale of Ken’s kindness has made headlines around the world, with many sharing how much they’ve been impacted by the generous deed.

One Twitter user commented: “People like Ken never die as they’ve left an imprint on humanity that can never be erased.”

Another added: “As long as we remember this act of kindness and love, and repeat it ourselves.”  

Tags:
neighbour, leaves, Christmas, presents