A diner’s dismay turned to delight when a homeless man stepped in to help after he was turned away from a swanky restaurant in his open-toed sandals.

Akbar Badshah made the trip from West Yorkshire to Manchester to eat at upmarket Brazilian grill chain Fazenda, travelling across the Pennines from Queensbury with wife Rozmin to celebrate her birthday.

But the 36-year-old optician was caught short when staff explained their strict dress code, pointing out his black, plastic sandals.

The couple got chatting to a homeless man named John in the city centre, who immediately swapped his new pair of shoes so that they would be allowed into the restaurant.

Akbar and wife Rozmin in Fazenda, Manchester, after a homeless man offered to swap shoes so he would be allowed in

Akbar said: “He said, ‘you won’t believe this, but I’ve got a brand new pair of shoes from an outreach project’, and he said I could borrow them, so we swapped shoes.”

After finishing their meal at Fazenda, Akbar and Rozmin went back to see John to return the shoes and offer £10 to say thanks, which John refused.

But karma was on John’s side, as right that moment a man walked past hearing their conversation and handed John a £50 note.

Akbar added: “John couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable karma. He kept saying he didn’t want anything in return. I gave John a hug and we took some photos together – we just felt so touched by what he had done.”