Dorothy Bull, 91, wakes up every Sunday at 6am to goes out onto the streets of Ilford to give homeless people breakfast and someone to talk to.

Mrs Bull, together with a group of volunteers take urns of tea and coffee and hot sandwiches to those waiting near the police station in High Road.

Known to many homeless people as ‘mum’, has been working with the homeless for the past 30 years and volunteers for Church without Walls and the Salvation Army.

“By 7am they are all waiting for us. It’s so sad when you hear about their backgrounds. People think they are scum, but they’re not. We don’t know if we have done anything for some of them, but for lots we do. They think we are their family because they don’t have a home or a church. They are so polite, one lady used to bring me flowers because she thinks I’m her mum as she doesn’t have one. We have so many things like that. They are so ready to talk to people. They are human beings – they are just like us just they have problems or bad home lives. We sing and give the word of the bible, some have given their lives to the lord. We feed them hard boiled eggs because they are good for them and sometimes some chocolate. I feel there’s a need for people to help the homeless.”