'Why’d you do that?' ... Homelesss man Willie was shocked by the worker's despicable prank. Picture: LeaveYouTube

An employee working at the drive-thru at a McDonald’s restaurant near Schaefer on the western side of Detroit, the largest city in Michigan, called out to an elderly homeless man he calls Willie to offer him food.

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The worker then showed the homeless man a carton of cooked food and told him to come and get it.

When Willie approached the window, the worker threw a cup of water at him.

“Why’d you do that?” Willie asks.

The incident was recorded by a man in a vehicle waiting at the drive-thru. He laughed when the water was thrown at Willie.

Despicable ... A worker at a McDonald's drive thru throws water at an elderly homeless man who he tricked into thinking he was getting food. Picture: Leave YouTube / YouTubeSource:YouTube

The worker’s employer Wise Finley was suitably unimpressed and fired the worker.

“I am very disturbed by the inappropriate behaviour of this employee,” said the McDonald’s franchisee in a statement.

“This type of behaviour is not tolerated in my organisation. I expect my employees to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and this was unacceptable. This individual no longer works for my organisation.”

Tasha Gray, executive director of the Homeless Action Network of Detroit, shared in the outrage over the video, Detroit Free Press reported.

“I think we forget sometimes that people experiencing homelessness are just like you and I,” she said. “We have working families who just don’t have enough means to make ends meet. I like to tell my staff that we’re one missed paycheck away from homelessness.”