A MAN who once lived on the streets has raised more than £1,300 to pay for monthly Saturday night takeaways for residents of a homeless hostel.

Scores of Swindon people have got behind Dean McMackin’s fundraising drive, designed to boost the spirits of the men living at Culvery Court in the town centre.

The Facebook and Twitter appeal only began in February, asking people to donate just £1 a month. The current total stands at £1,372, enough to buy a monthly takeaway for the next seven months. The first takeaway night is planned for tonight, with the food coming from Old Town Thai in Wood Street.

The scheme has been launched with the help of Threshold, the independent charity which provides emergency accommodation to homeless people in Swindon.

Dean McMackin, 37, who now lives in Old Town, said: “I was on the streets myself and I know how tough it is when you have nothing to look forward to.

“The idea is to build up the spirits in the local homeless hostel at Culvery Court. Once a month we will provide a takeaway, and hopefully build it into a film night in the near future.

“It is important that these guys experience the same normality that we all do, and with this simple gesture people will be going some way to making a person’s month and, more importantly, giving them something to look forward to.”

Dean used social media to spread the message of his campaign and was shocked when the donations started flooding in to his Virgin Money Giving page.

“I thought it would only be a handful of my friends from Facebook who would donate, but there has been a fantastic response to this. Some people have even paid a year’s amount or more. It is great to see the local community helping.”

Along with money donations, there have also been people offering to deliver food, and donate bedding and clothes.

Team leader at Culvery Court Threshold’s hostel for men, Peter Evans, said: “Through the generosity of others, our residents will feel a sense of belonging to the wider community and hopefully feel that society does care.

“It also gives our clients in the direct access hostel an opportunity to meet and engage with others, which really does help reduce feelings of social isolation.

“This is hugely positive and beneficial in that it helps to alleviate the social exclusion of homelessness and enables our clients to consider and begin to visualise a light at the end of what can be, for some, a very dark tunnel.“

If you want to help donate, you can do this by visiting virginmoneygiving.com/deanmcmackin1.