Cardiff couple invited man in for Christmas, he stayed for 45 years

We invited a man into our home at Christmas and he stayed with us for 45 years Image caption,Ronnie, pictured with Rob and Dianne's son Lloyd at Christmas, was very hands on in helping out with the children and would often say "I'm good with kids I am" Image caption,Ronnie Lockwood had autism and was left homeless after being ejected from a care centre at the age of 15 Image caption,Dianne says Ronnie "came into his own" helping out with the children when she was suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome ME Image caption,Rob and Dianne pictured with Ronnie (right) and their two children, Lloyd and Katie in 1988 Image caption,Rob and Dianne, pictured here in their early 20s, went on to have two children and five grandchildren Image caption,"[Ronnie] was there before they came and he was there when they were gone with children of their own," says Rob Image caption,Ronnie regularly volunteered at the food bank at their local church and helped manage a Boxing Day football match every year for 25 years Image caption,Ronnie left £40,000 to charity in his will, which was the exact amount needed to fix the roof of the Lockwood centre Published Christmas is often regarded as a time for goodwill, but one young UK couple's act of kindness 50 years ago changed their lives forever. On 23 December 1975, Rob Parsons and his wife Dianne were preparing for Christmas at their Cardiff home when they heard a knock at the door. On their doorstep stood a man with a bin bag containing his possessions in his right hand and a frozen chicken in his left. Rob studied the man's face and vaguely remembered him as Ronnie Lockwood, someone he would occasionally see at Sunday School as a boy and who he was told to be kind to as he was a "bit different". "I said 'Ronnie, what's with the chicken?' He said 'somebody gave it to me for Christmas'. And then I said two words that changed all of our lives. "And I'm not exactly sure why I said them. I said come in." Aged just 27 and 26 years old at the time, the couple felt compelled to take Ronnie, who was autistic, under their wing. They cooked his chicken, let him bathe and agreed to let him stay for Christmas. What began as an act of compassion turned into an unique companionship of love and compromise that lasted 45 years, until the day Ronnie died. Rob and Dianne Parsons say Ronnie "enriched their lives" and they couldn't imagine doing it all without him Rob, now 77, and Dianne, now 76, had only been married for four years when they welcomed Ronnie into their home. Ronnie was then almost 30 and had been without a home from the age of 15, living in and around Cardiff and moving from job to job - Rob would sometimes see him at a youth club he ran. To make him feel as welcome as possible,...

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