Homeless man, 25, left feeling like 'no one, nothing' after sleeping bag was soaked by McDonald's security guard

11 December 2023, 22:07

A homeless man has said he was made to feel like "no one, nothing" after a McDonald's security guard soaked his sleeping bag during plummeting temperatures.

The McDonald's security guard was sacked after he was filmed mopping around a homeless man's sleeping mat over the weekend.

The worker was seen kicking covers away and mopping right next to the rough sleeper, who remonstrates with him and says "leave me alone".

Aaron McCarthy, 25, originally from Limerick, Ireland, said he could not sleep because of the "stressful" situation.

He said the incident made him feel like he was "no one, nothing".

"What happened has really affected my mental health," he told MailOnline.

"It has made my PTSD go off again and made my ADHD get worse.

"There was no reason for that security guard to throw water on my sleeping bag.

"I told him that I was not outside McDonald's and that the private Victoria security [who control the pavement area around Victoria station] said it was ok."

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Mr McCarthy said he survives thanks to his close friendship with a group of other homeless people, including his girlfriend.

"Everyone seems to think that people on the streets are drug addicts," he said. "But I'm not. I don't chose to be here.

"I've asked and asked and asked for help but it seems like no one wants to know. I need help and I don't get help."

Mr McCarthy previously insisted to the Telegraph that he "wasn't causing a nuisance".

"The guy started mopping the floor and kicking my stuff into the water," he said. "It was disgusting.

"I had to leave because it was so stressful, and I hardly slept the entire night because my bedding was all soaked. You can still smell the bleach on my blanket."

McDonald's has since said they were sorry and said they were "shocked and saddened" to see footage of the staff at the outlet in Victoria.

Social media users were appalled, with Damon Evans, who uploaded the footage on Saturday, posting to McDonald's on X saying: "Do you think it is acceptable for your staff to soak the sleeping bags of homeless people in the middle of winter (or any other time of the year)?

"Disgusting behaviour. He wasn't even outside your premises."

Another X user wrote: "What a despicable and dehumanising thing to do.

"You better provide him with new equipment, @McDonaldsUK and some monetary compensation or shame on you too."

McDonald's said in a statement: "We are shocked and saddened by this incident.

"The third party security guards involved have been permanently removed from our restaurants and the restaurant team has been reminded of the importance of treating all people with respect including vulnerable people both in the restaurant and within the wider community.

"We would like to wholeheartedly apologise to the gentleman in the video and will work with the council to locate him and make amends, as part of our continued support for homelessness charities and organisations across London."