The gentleman - who wished to remain anonymous - cleared 38 laybys for families.

Kmart clothing manager Sharon Reynolds said the man wanted to pay off gifts for children.

"We were approached by a gentleman from the Burnie community wanting to do a good deed and spread some Christmas cheer to those in need," she said.

"He wanted to pay off some laybys that mainly had toys and outdoor stuff for kids."

Mrs Reynolds said customers going to the store to pay their layby were shocked.

"When we explained it to them they were really taken aback," she said.

"We had lots of tears and very thankful people."

The kind deed also inspired those who had their layby's paid off to do their own acts of kindness.

"One lady actually used the money for her layby to buy some gifts for the wishing tree," Mrs Reynolds said.

Mrs Reynolds says that the generous man just wanted to spread some Christmas cheer.

"It literally was just something they wanted to do for the community and hopefully help people that needed it," she said.