11 December 2023 , 08:29
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A homeless man who was drenched in cold water and "bleach" by a McDonald’s security guard said he was "disgusted" by the shocking incident.
Footage went viral online of a security guard dousing a homeless man and his belongings with water and allegedly bleach as he mopped where he had been sleeping. A homeless group "@streetskitchen" which provides services for those with no home, shared the astonishing video of the man being covered in water which caused fury amongst passers by.
The footage was taken on Victoria Street, London, on Saturday night whilst people went about festive shopping in the capital. The video was shared online, with the caption: "Hi @McDonaldsUK 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."
But now the homeless man has spoken out, expressing his shock at being subject to such treatment. Telegraph reported that Aaron McCarthy, 25, from Limerick, Ireland, had lived in London since he was a young child and was the homeless man, victim of the incident.
The McDonald's worker mopped where the homeless man had been with his belongings - outside a bank, soaking him (Twitter)
Aaron has since spoken out following the astonishing incident (Twitter)He said he was sat outside a Nationwide bank branch down from McDonalds when the security guard asked him to move and he refused. It was then he claimed they became aggressive. Aaron said: "I told him to calm down and that he was stressing me out and putting me under pressure. I wasn’t causing a nuisance and they told me they wouldn’t bother me if I was sitting there before."
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He added: "I told them I was outside the bank, not McDonald’s and so I had nothing to do with them but then one of them came out with a bucket of water with bleach in it, I could smell it. The guy started mopping the floor and kicking my stuff into the water. 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."
The restaurant chain went on to apologise for the behaviour of security staff who they insisted were "third party security guards" and said they had been "permanently removed". The restaurant also said they would remind their staff of treating others with respect in and around the restaurant.
A spokesman for McDonalds said: "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."