A FORMER unemployed man is aiming to help the less fortunate this winter.

It won’t be a soup kitchen but the spirit will be the same when Bridport’s ‘curry man’ Alasdair Marshall spends the evening giving away food to the needy and homeless.

He is planning his philanthropic gesture for next Wednesday evening and thanks in part to the generosity of Rawles Butchers in East Street he will be serving up pots of beef goulash or stew, with vegetables, potatoes, soups, teas and coffees.

Bridport Town Council has given him permission to keep his stall open in the evening and has agreed to put benches out for people to use.

Three years ago Alasdair, who runs the Spice and Rice market stall, was an unemployed door-to-door salesman before he turned to YouTube for ‘how to’ tips on cooking and came up with the idea of his Spice and Rice stall.

He said: “I learned using a lot of common sense and YouTube.

“I like cooking everything – I am not a one trick pony but it has been the curries that have really been the most popular.”

He added that he wants to put something back into the town that has welcomed him.

He said: “I have the equipment in the street and in Bridport there are people who are finding it a bit tight.”

He said he wasn’t going to police his generosity – he will be relying on people’s honesty and good will.

He said: “People wouldn’t be taking advantage of me if they weren’t really in need, they would be taking advantage of people who are in need.

“I have a lot of faith in the local community.

“It is a gesture of goodwill.”

He will contacting old people’s homes and other places who might know people who would appreciate a ‘home-cooked’ hot meal.