A mum was left 'speechless' when a stranger came up to her and her five-year-old son and presented him with a Build A Bear teddy as a surprise Christmas present.
The woman gave the bear to young Kian Hempenstall because she lost a child of her own a few years back, and chooses to remember him in this way each year.
Even more poignant is the fact that Kian himself suffered tragedy this year when his dad was killed in a motorcycle accident.
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His mum Chelsea explained how she and Kian were out shopping in Manchester city centre when the woman approached them carrying two boxes.
After checking whether Kian liked teddy bears - which he does - she presented him with one of the boxes, and went away.
Chelsea told the Manchester Evening News how the woman explained she lives in Stoke-on-Trent now, but travels back up to Manchester each year to pay tribute to her lost child.
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She buys two presents, gives one away and keeps the other for herself.
Chelsea, who lives in Fallowfield, shared a picture of Kian and the anonymous woman on Facebook, writing: "I've never felt so much kindness as we just received five minutes ago.
"To this wonderful lady, thank you. We were just making our way across town when we were approached and Kian was asked if he liked teddy bears?
"My natural response was, well yeah but why?
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"And she explained that her baby would have been eight years old and every year she buys two bears and travels 70 miles to Manchester to gift one to a child of similar age that would have been her sweet baby, the other is kept by herself and the family."
She continued: "After all we've been through this year, especially for my precious little Kian losing his dad, I felt we had such a connection, even in that brief moment.
"I believe that angels come around in a time of need and this certainly was that."
Chelsea said that she didn't ask for any more details from the woman, particularly about her child, because she didn't want to upset her.
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The 25-year-old said: "She just came over to us in Piccadilly Gardens and asked if Kian liked teddy bears.
"She already had them both in her hands and then she explained as to why she wanted to gift him a teddy bear.
"We were extremely touched by the amount of kindness and love we felt from this lady.
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"I instantly felt a connection when she explained to us why she wanted to gift Kian the teddy bear, given he has recently lost his daddy as well.
"We were completely speechless and I just wanted to give her a big hug.
"Kian was excited about getting a new bear and he was so happy the whole way home, it will be something that we can keep and cherish forever."
Featured Image Credit: MEN MediaTopics: Christmas, UK News, Inspirational, Interesting