A schoolboy has received praise from Marcus Rashford after using his own money to buy his friend new football boots.

Xavier Bonney noticed his friend, Eric, had started playing in PE pumps after his boots had ripped.

The pair often play together on Hulton Lane playing fields in Bolton and Xavier decided to help his friend by splashing out on a new pair of boots.

Using money saved up that had been given to him by his Grandma, Xavier spent £16.99 on the new boots.

Dad Jason snapped the moment he handed them over and since posting the photo on Facebook, it has received huge amounts of attention on the social media platform.

And Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford even tweeted about Xavier's good deed, saying "Now THIS" followed by a love heart emoji.

He said it was "an act of kindness" and has asked to help get a gift to the pair of football-loving lads.

Jason said: "They have been out playing football in the park in recent weeks and Eric's shoes had started to get worn out, so he'd been using his PE pumps.

"A few of his mates had been asking why he was wearing them and not trainers, so Xavier told me he'd like to buy some.

"He's had a bit of money saved up given to him by his Grandma and he said he wanted to use that. I felt really proud of him for doing it. He could have spent it on Fortnite or anything he wanted but he chose to help his mate and I thought that was great."

Xavier, a St William York Primary School pupil, said: "Everyone else on the park had boots so I decided to get him some so he wasn't left out. He was saying thank you a thousand times and he was just so happy."

Since sharing the photo on Monday evening, the post has amassed more than 4,000 likes, 2,000 shares and hundreds of positive comments about Xavier's kind-hearted gesture.

One user commented: "What a lovely little diamond you’ve raised. So kind and thoughtful of him."

Another said: "Such a generous little boy. Bless his heart."

A third said: "What an absolutely amazing and gorgeous thing to do. Well done Xavier what a lovely kind boy you are."