A Surrey man who once found himself homeless and struggling to feed himself is now dressing up as a superhero to give back to the communities that helped him rebuild his life.

Liam Keen, 44, has spent the past few years giving his time to community clean-ups, picking up litter, removing graffiti, cleaning road signs and even leaving bowls of water out for dogs.

Now, he and his friend Dennis have taken the work one step further – dressing up as Batman and Robin while carrying out their “super cleans”.

Liam found himself homeless several years ago, living in his van with his dog Angel and her five newborn puppies.

“It was right in the middle of winter and at the time I only had two days’ work a week,” he said. “I was struggling to keep the van warm and the dogs fed, and there were plenty of nights when I didn’t have enough money left to feed myself.”

Having previously suffered from Lyme disease and following the breakdown of a relationship, Liam said he was at one of the lowest points of his life.

He reached out to the local community for help – and was overwhelmed by the response.

“Hundreds and hundreds” of people from across the Surrey area, including Woking, Aldershot, Farnham, Ash, Guildford and Normandy, got in touch, offering him work, recommending him to others, leaving reviews and helping with dog food.

The support gave him the chance to slowly rebuild his life.

When someone later set up a GoFundMe for him, Liam was unable to find the person who had donated the money to repay them.

“I decided then if I couldn’t pay it back, I could pay it forward,” he said.

That was when he began using his spare time to clean up the areas around him.

Since then, Liam, his sidekick Dennis and Liam’s two dogs, Angel and Poppy, have carried out clean-ups in Woking and communities across Surrey dressed up as Batman and Robin – the dogs too.

“I wanted to find some way of giving something back to the community that had helped me when I really needed it,” he said. “People kept jokingly calling us ‘heroes’ for doing it, which is where the idea of actually dressing up as superheroes came from.

“We thought it would be a laugh, make people smile and, more importantly, draw a bit more attention to the community clean-up projects and hopefully encourage other people to take some pride in where they live too.”

The pair have since launched Surrey Repointing Specialist, while continuing their community work whenever they can.

Liam received the Guildford Mayor’s Award for Service to the Community in 2025.

“The award blew me away as I never expected anything like that. But if truth be told, it’s the local communities that deserve awards, not me. I’m just repaying a debt to my community.

“I’ve lived all over the UK but, in my opinion, Surrey is the best place in the UK. If even one person is inspired to go out and pay it forward, then that’s great.”