A GROUP of Bournemouth fans have been hailed on social media after giving a homeless man a ticket to the World Darts Championship.
A bunch of Cherries supporters had a spare ticket to quarter-final night at Ally Pally on Wednesday due to one of their friends being unable to make it.
They could have sold it or opted not to offer it to anyone, but instead they made an admirable offer to a homeless person.
The group, who dressed in sombreros, gave the ticket to the man – who the BBC have reported is a Scotsman called John – and brought him in with them to include him as part of their night.
The Metro have also reported they paid for his whole evening and put him up in a Travelodge hotel to ensure he did not have to sleep on the street.
One of the men, Craig Wells, said: “It’s not about the money.
“We could have got £75 back but he really enjoyed it… and he’ll remember it for the rest of his life.”
Before he went on to add: “We had one pull-out and rather than selling the ticket back, my friend Jamie said: ‘Why don’t you take the homeless guy?’, which was sat outside the boozer at the time.
“So he went out and got him. We just said to him: ‘What are you doing tonight?’ He said: ‘Not a lot’, and he started laughing at us.
[boxout headline=”World Darts Championship – top stories” featured-image=”32546192″ intro=”READ MORE on all the fall-out from Luke Littler’s incredible world title win…”]- Littler blows away Van Gerwen to win world title aged 17
- Littler is more than a darts player – he’s a multi-million pound commodity
- Incredible rise in darts viewing figures revealed
- Littler miles off being world No 1 despite £500k win
- Littler breaks incredible record with stunning win
- Fans praise Sky Sports for ‘lovely’ Donna Mardle touch
- Fans in tears as Chris Hoy presents Ballon d’Art trophy
- Van Gerwen makes another X-rated comment on live TV
- Littler reveals unusual preparation for final
- Inside wild celebrations at Littler’s darts academy
- How Littler celebrated incredible win – as tributes pour in
- Littler copies iconic Lionel Messi trophy picture
“And so we went and bought him a pint of Guinness and said: ‘You might as well come with us.’
“The only thing we didn’t have was a sombrero for him.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”How Sky Sports broadcast the World Darts Championship with key question answered as fans say ‘that’s genuinely amazing’ ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366613674112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Astonishingly, Craig also revealed John hit the bullseye with his first dart in Ally Pally’s bullseye competition.
Craig said: “He said to a friend of mine, it’s been on his bucket list – he’d always wanted to go to the darts.
“The funny thing was, they did a bullseye competition… and he ended up getting a free drink from that.
“We were all trying and he comes along, pops his first dart into the bullseye. You couldn’t make it up.
“At least we fulfilled his dream. He hasn’t got a lot in life but he’s got something to remember now.”
Social media accounts caught wind of the story and have since received thousands of likes about the tale.
And people online poured in with their praise for the Bournemouth supporters.
One said: “As a Villa fan, got to say yet again football clubs are showing what great people they are. Well done you Bournemouth fans.”
Another added: “You’re all legends. What a wonderful thing to do. If only the whole world were like this.”
A third replied: “Fantastic to see some people do care about others less fortunate.”
While a fourth responded: “Love it. Can’t beat humility and giving someone a real treat. That guy will be forever grateful.”
And a fifth simply said: “Absolutely superb!”
Wednesday’s evening session saw Stephen Bunting beat two-time champion Peter Wright, while last year’s runner-up Luke Littler booked his semi-final spot with a win over Nathan Aspinall.