A lost Romanian tourist survived on the streets of London for four days with just £20 in his pocket thanks to the kindness of strangers.

Vasile Belea, 63, came to the UK to spend Christmas with his son.

He went missing on Tuesday evening (14th January 2014) after travelling to central London with his son. Mr Belea got separated from his son by closing Tube doors at Stockwell station.

He was unable to explain to police officers that he was lost and gave up.

He had no money on his Oyster card and was not carrying medication for his arthritis.

He decided to walk to find a familiar place and relied on the kindness of shops and restaurants.

To avoid getting cold or wet he stayed in shops during the day. During the night he walked continuously so as to not fall asleep or get stiff with his arthritis.

He was very careful with his money and bought milk and sandwiches.

On the second evening he stayed at a betting shop until closing time at 10pm. On the third evening he stayed at an Indian restaurant until the early hours of the morning. He returned there on the fourth evening. They also gave him five sandwiches.

Eventually, he spotted someone reading a newspaper with his photo in it. Mr Belea was in Southall, West London, 15 miles from Stockwell.

When he was found, he still had £3 of the original £20 note left over and 2 sandwiches left.

His daughter said: "People helped him. He said ‘I love London - everyone is very kind.’"

"He said everyone was so nice and everyone was trying to help but they didn’t realise he was a missing person."

The re-united family want to find the Indian restaurant to thank them and eat there. The only clue to the restaurant is that the 120 bus stopped nearby.