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Elderly Neighbour Dies And Leaves Little Girl Next Door 14 Years' Worth Of Presents

Elderly Neighbour Dies And Leaves Little Girl Next Door 14 Years' Worth Of Presents

You might not quite be ready for this so get the tissues at the ready​

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A pensioner carried out the ultimate act of kindness when he bought the little girl who lives next door Christmas presents for the next 14 years.

Forward-planning Ken Watson, 87, brought his neighbours, Owen and Caroline Williams, to tears when they discovered a sack full of wrapped presents for their two-year-old daughter, Cadi.

Ken, who always said he would live to be 100, passed away back in October and as his daughter was emptying his home in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, she found the presents.

Speaking to LADbible, Owen Williams said: "She called around last night and she was on the doorstep clutching what looked like a rubbish bag and I just put two and two together and I just got 18. I assumed she wanted me to put out some rubbish for her.

"Instantly I said 'yep, no problem'. Then she said 'these are the gifts that dad has left for Cadi for Christmas' and it just blindsided me.

"I went into the kitchen and my wife was on FaceTime to her mum in Ireland and it was like Mary Poppins' bag - I just kept pulling them out and they kept coming and coming."

Cadi Williams received 14 Christmas presents from her elderly next door neighbour shortly after he passed away.
Instagram/owswills

Shortly after tweeting about what had happened, Owen started a poll asking people what the family should do: open the gifts now and rewrap them or do a lucky dip until 2032.

Up to now the poll has received over 42,000 votes.

Owen Williams started a poll asking people what the family should do after his daughter received 14 years worth of Christmas presents.
Twitter/@OwsWills

Owen explained that his neighbour was a 'really good neighbour and a genuine, genuine man'.

Recalling their first meeting, he told LADbible: "When we first moved in he was up on the top of scaffolding this was September 2015 he had two sections of scaffolding at the front of his house it was a 1920s property - very high, he was on top of a ladder and using it as a pogo stick to jump from one scaffold to another.

"I did a double take and mouthed [to a neighbour] 'what on Earth do I do?' and he said 'I have no idea' - he was bouncing the ladder. Then he came down to meet me I said hi and we gave him a bottle of wine.

"At the time we only had the dog and he said 'can I give her a biscuit' it was a chocolate biscuit and I said no, dogs don't eat chocolate and being 80-odd he just ignored me and gave the dog a chocolate biscuit anyway."

In another heartwarming story, Owen explained that Ken bought Cadi an enormous four foot tall 'gangly-legged dread-locked lion called Elvis' for her first Christmas present.

He went on: "They're a well known brand of soft toys. We were in a toy shop a few months later and got chatting to the woman behind the counter. I saw one of the Elvis' and said 'we've got one of them from our neighbour'.

"The lady behind the counter said 'oh, it wasn't an elderly gentleman with a bald head and glasses' and I said it was. She said 'he's bought them for all the neighbour's children'.

"He had effectively cleared them out of Elvis' over the years. That's just to give you a sense of both the decency and forward-planning. You're not crying, I'm crying. I'm not crying, you're crying."

Now Owen is calling for people all over to meet their own neighbours this Christmas. He said: "What struck me in the messages I've received is how many people don't actually know their neighbours.

"One thing I would say to that is that our friends and family will always be there for us but they're not physically there for you. Your neighbours on the other hand are both literally and physically in the next house or just across the road.

"In a time of crisis you can turn to your friends and family by all means but theoretically your neighbours are immediate. They're the people that would rescue you from a house fire or if all the slates fell off your roof.

"In terms of a Christmas wish I would say, just say hi to your neighbours and there's no better time to do it. Take a bottle of wine or prosecco."

What an incredible LAD Ken really was.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Instagram/owswills

Topics: Feels, Community