A KIND-hearted Burnley schoolboy has been praised by his school for helping to give homeless people a better chance in life.

For the past few weeks, nine-year-old Brandon Hodgson has been helping his mum Natalie give food, clothing and advice to homeless people.

An internet campaign has seen dozens of volunteers give up their time to provide vital supplies to people living on the streets of East Lancashire.

And Brandon was so moved by their plight he got involved, even visiting soup kitchens.

Now he has received a certificate from teachers in a celebratory assembly at St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, in Thames Avenue.

Headteacher Kieran Heakin told the children how proud the school was of the caring student.

Kerry Stannard, class teacher, said: “Brandon has a lot of friends and enjoys all aspects of school life. He has a really caring side.

“He’s a popular pupil and he works hard.

“For a Year Five student especially, it’s great. He’s really proud of himself for doing it.”

Brandon said: “It helped because it’s unfair. They just get abandoned. One of them, Brian, had been living in a car park and he had to keep all his belongings in a bin, where it all rots down.”

With help from his proud mum Natalie, 35, Brandon pledged to help the two men, Brian and Tyrone.

He said: “Brian got chucked out because he had a business partner who ripped him off and took all the money.

“He didn’t have enough money to pay for the bills or the heating.

“Tyrone got thrown out because he did not get on with his family. He moved in with his mate but had to get out of there because it was not safe.”

Natalie said: “He said I’m an inspiration and he wanted to come and help me the next time.”

Brandon and his mum joined the mobile soup kitchens to hand out essentials to the cold and hungry, and put Tyrone in touch with the Emmaus Project, which found him a new home.

Brendon said: “We’re close to getting Brian a house too.”