A video of a drunken reveller offering a homeless man takeaway food before throwing it into his face has emerged.
In the clip, which was shared on social media, a man wearing a Calvin Klein shirt walks up to another man, believed to be homeless, in Cheapside, Derby, at around 2am on Sunday morning.
Adam Thorpe, 29, is captured offering the homeless man his kebab and chips and then looks towards the camera where his friend is filming before slamming the takeaway box into his face.
In the clip Adam Thorpe, 29, wears a Calvin Klein shirt and jeans walk up to another man, believed to be homeless, in Cheapside, Derby, on Sunday morning
The victim, wearing a hat and green coat, stumbles forward after the blow as uncontrollable laughter can be heard from the group filming.
The clip has been shared more than 1,000 times and has been heavily condemned by Facebook users.
Mr Thorpe, from Chaddesden, Derby, claims he offered the man £10 to throw the food in his face.
He told Derbyshire Live: ‘I felt so bad for what I did afterwards and I spent ages the next day and the day after trying to find him to say I was sorry.
‘What I did was bang out of order.
‘I’m no angel by any means, but I’m not someone who buys food just to throw at homeless people.’
And Callum Asycough-Burton, who filmed the video on Snapchat, said he ‘deeply regretted’ the incident.
He offers the homeless man his kebab and chips then looks towards the camera where his friend is filming before slamming the takeaway box into his face
He wrote on social media: ‘I will be honest, I had no idea what he was going to do…and I was very drunk which I have apologised for and do deeply regret.
‘I have nothing to do with the guy in the video and plan not to. I am not a bad person and have made a silly drunken mistake.’
He told Derbyshire Live: ‘I was out in the town and I’ll be honest, I had a few drinks when someone came up to me and asked me to start recording. I didn’t know what he was going to do.
‘What happened happened and I’ll admit I did laugh, but now I wish I didn’t.
‘I want to send my apologies to the homeless man who it happened to.’
Now, a homeless charity in Derby has offered to help the man and find him somewhere to stay.
Phil Ingall, strategic director at Pace Housing, which provides housing for disadvantaged people in the city, said he would try and find the victim and get him help.
He said: ‘I was sickened to see this vile act from one human to another, it makes me want to work harder to eliminate homelessness from the streets of Derby.
The victim, wearing a hat and green coat, stumbles forward after the blow as uncontrollable laughter can be heard from the group filming
‘I will be going out later today to try and reach out to this man.’
People have been taking to social media to share their disapproval of the video, originally shared on Snapchat.
One user on Facebook wrote: ‘Instead off trying to find the idiot who did this, can some one please tell me the homeless guy’s name and where he lives on the street so I can buy him some food?’
Another user said: ‘Why would you even do that to someone? And recording as well? Instead of slapping food in his face, why don’t you give him money or buy him food? #karma’.
One user wrote: ‘Disgusting behaviour! What a cruel act, that’s not something to laugh at. I hope the good people in the city will give the young homeless lad the support he needs.’
And another user said: ‘What a waste of space. And the person recording and laughing is no better.’
Robbed, urinated on and hosed with water: Fears for homeless people across Britain following unprovoked attacks
Concern is growing for the safety of homeless people across Britain following a number of unprovoked attacks – including being robbed, urinated on, ambushed and hosed with water.
Two homeless men have gone missing following a sickening attack against where a man launched himself feet-first into their tent in Hull city centre.
The assault was recorded on CCTV in Whitefriargate and shows a man in a black T-shirt being encouraged by his two friends to take a run up and jump at a tent near the entrance of a shop next door to Boyes.
Another man in orange filmed the brutal event and the group of men can then be seen laughing and joking as they walk away from the scene.
CCTV footage of a man launching himself feet-first into two homeless men’s tent in Hull city centre
Humberside Police have confirmed the pair in the tent were unhurt but have launched an urgent appeal to try to find the men responsible.
The offence has outraged many in Hull and has left people worried for the safety of the two men as charities confirm they have not been seen since.
Carl Simpson, manager of Raise the Roof, a homeless project, said: ‘The last time we saw the homeless men that were attacked was the Thursday before the attack at the soup kitchen.
‘They asked us where it would be safe to pitch their tent up, but we couldn’t really advise as it’s not policy, and the next thing we knew, the men had been attacked.’
Another man in orange filmed the brutal event and the group of men can then be seen laughing and joking as they walk away from the scene
The incident is one of a string of attacks that have been made towards homeless people in Hull, with rough sleepers in the city revealing how they are being beaten up, robbed, abused and even urinated on by members of the public.
Since October, two rough sleepers in a tent off Beverley Road were left with serious injuries following a brutal gang ambush and another man wandering around Story Street was hosed with water and forced to walk topless.
‘I think that the public perception of homelessness has changed because of the Spice zombies that are seen around Hull, and now all homeless people are labelled and seen as druggies when they’re not, which causes a lot of attacks towards them,’ said Mr Simpson.
‘These men, like other homeless people, are just trying to survive, especially during winter, and the attack towards them is absolutely disgusting and the men that did it are nothing better than animals.
‘People are just trying to get on in life and treating them in that way is vile.’