Chesterfield's singing Big Issue seller 'has nothing but love' for his adopted town

Come rain or shine, Big Issue seller Rafael Marin goes out of his way to make people smile as he tries to earn a living on the busy streets of the town centre.

But when he moved to Britain just over a decade ago, Rafael admits he could barely speak a word of English.

“It was difficult at first and still is,” he says during a quick break from his sales pitch on High Street.

MORE: Mumps outbreak at major school near Chesterfield

“But I have nothing but love for the people of Chesterfield who have welcomed me.”

Twenty-six-year-old Rafael arrived in the UK from Romania in 2008 and spent three years living on the streets with ‘no job, no nothing’.

“I saw a guy selling the Big Issue in Sheffield and he took me to the office and got me a good spot selling the Big Issue in Rotherham,” Rafael said.

“But I spoke very little English so had to learn it on the streets and by talking to people who stopped.

“I’ve now been doing this in Chesterfield for ten years and I love the people here.

“I started singing to attract people and to cheer them up. When you have character, people love you like a lollipop!”

MORE: Chesterfield neighbours celebrate lottery win

Currently living in a hostel in Derby, Rafael says his motivation is to support his family.

“I do this to support my mum, brother and sister. Family is everything to me. I do a bit of painting and decorating but there are no jobs out there.

“It is a difficult life but thanks to God and thanks to the people who look after me I keep smiling and making other people smile.

“When you work hard, Jesus protects you.”

On Friday, despite Storm Dennis beginning its early battering of the town, Rafael was busy selling copies of the Big Issue and cheering people up as they passed by.

One woman, who asked not to be named, described Rafael as a ‘real Chesterfield character’ and said the town would be a much lesser place without him.

James Taylor, 46, of Staveley, said: “We see him virtually every time we come into the town centre and he’s always laughing with people and singing.”

Rafael, who says he is half-Spanish, half-Romanian, is hoping the weather warms up soon as he admits the wintry weather makes his job even more difficult.

“It’s not easy when it’s raining, cold and miserable,” he says. “I just hope people realise how important selling the Big Issue is to us.

“If just one person reads this and stops to buy one to help homeless people I will be so pleased.”

The Big Issue has been offering ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ since 1991 and offers homeless people and those at risk of homelessness the opportunity to earn a legitimate income.

For more information, visit the website here.