Donations for ‘Trolley Man hero’ who took on Melbourne knife attacker pass £27,000

'This funding may grow further, but Michael probably hasn’t had much experience with large sums of money'

Donations totalling tens of thousands of pounds have been pouring in for a homeless man who used a shopping trolley to fend off a knife-wielding attacker as he stabbed at people in Australia.

Grateful members of the public have so far donated more than A$50,000 (£27,800) to Michael Rogers, nicknamed “Trolley Man”, who repeatedly rammed the knifeman as he lunged at police.

Hassan Khalif Shire Ali had already stabbed three people, one fatally, in the attack in a busy shopping area in Melbourne.

The homeless man was captured on camera as he moved towards Ali, who was running around with a knife, and shoving the trolley at him.

“I have seen the trolley to the side, so I’ve picked it up and I ran and threw the trolley straight at him. Got him but didn’t get him down,” Mr Rogers told Australia’s Channel 7. “And I did that motion about – quite a number of times, but it just wasn’t getting him down.”

He was metres away from a truck containing gas cylinders that Ali had set alight after crashing it.

Mr Rogers told a witness his efforts were “just instinctive to help the police protect the safety of others”.

The 46-year-old, who reportedly sleeps rough on the streets of Melbourne, quickly became a hero on social media as people praised his actions.

Donna Stolzenberg, founder of registered charity Melbourne Homeless Collective, started a fundraising page on GoFundMe for him. By this morning it had raised more than A$52,000, exceeding its original goal of A$45,000 (£25,000).

Ms Stolzenberg said Mr Rogers would need a lot of support, including with financial literacy and ensuring nobody takes advantage of him.

“This funding is growing and may grow further,” she said. “Michael probably hasn’t had much experience with large sums of money.”

She said her organisation would help him to find housing and organise support for him to come to terms with what happened.

Ali was shot by police and died in hospital.

Counterterrorism officials believe Somali-born Ali was radicalised and inspired by Islamist group Isis.

Officers searched two properties in suburban Melbourne as part of their investigation.

Although his passport was cancelled in 2015 after he made plans to travel to Syria, he was not being actively monitored by the security services.

The bar owner whom he stabbed to death was identified as Sisto Malaspina, 74.

Agencies contributed to this report