A PLUMBER who is dedicated to ensuring the elderly and disabled can get work done for free has become an internet sensation for his latest act of outstanding kindness.

An 'invoice' from James Anderson, of Burnley, which has made its way onto social media, shows how he charged NOTHING for a callout to fix the leaky boiler of a 91-year-old customer.

Moreover, the invoice states that the woman, who has incurable leukaemia and is receiving end-of-life care, is to never be charged for any subsequent work and Mr Anderson promises 'to be available 24 hours to help her and keep her as comfortable as possible'.

And his selfless attitude has won him an army of admirers on Twitter and Facebook. A tweet from 'ProudDevonian' saying "this is the invoice from plumber, James Anderson in Burnley after fixing a lady's boiler - gives me a little hope for humanity after all" has had tens of thousands of likes and retweets.

Another admirer said: "These are the kind of people who should be being lauded not so called celebrities because they give up money they can afford to or suffer from some ailment plenty of others do."

And people replying to the tweet have offered him everything from free insurance to a promise they will nominate him for the Queen's honours.

Mr Anderson has run Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response (DEPHER) for two years providing a range of gas, water and heating services for vulnerable people.

He featured in the Lancashire Telegraph last year saying that he had been forced to start charging small fees to keep his not-for-profit enterprise going but had started a Crowdfunder page to try to avoid this.

Speaking about the positive public reaction, Mr Anderson said: "We didn't expect it. It's been everywhere."

The father of five said he was inspired to wind down his private work and begin DEPHER after seeing an elderly man poorly treated by another engineer.

He claims the switch to not-for-profit work has seen him fall in to debts of around £8,000, although he insists the shortfall is under control.

"A lot of people close to me ask: why are you getting yourself in to debt? To me, debt is debt... I would rather owe some money to somebody and another person be alive and happy and safe.

"It's an ethos that's in my heart and it will always stay there."

Mr Anderson is now hoping to take DEPHER's work country-wide.

"I've spoken to quite a few engineers around the country and they're all for it... it's just getting the funding," he said.

"I don't want any person who is elderly and disabled in this country, in this day and age, to die or suffer because of a cold home or a lack of funding to repair the boiler."

To support Mr Anderson go to crowdfunder.co.uk/disabled-elderly-free-plumbing-heating-service