Mystery Santa gives early Christmas gift to shoppers in Ohio

A man has paid off more than 106,000 US dollars (£71,000) in shoppers’ layaway items at two Wal-Mart stores in north-east Ohio.

Cleveland at Christmas. Image by Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

The man told Wal-Mart employees that he liked to do something special on his birthday every year. They say he insisted on remaining anonymous. The donor paid off a total of nearly 70,000 dollars (£47,000) for the layaway items at the Steelyard Commons store in Cleveland and about 36,000 dollars (£24,000) for items in Lorain.

Items on layaway included toys, 70-inch televisions and even a pair of socks. Tara Neal said she had paid 10 dollars (£6.70) on a bed for her three-year-old daughter at one of the stores when she was told that the remaining balance of more than 80 dollars (£53) was paid. She said it was “like Santa”.

(Press Association)