Homeless on the streets of Norwich

By Joe Lumley
BBC News, Norwich

Richard, who is 6ft 3in, has seen his weight plummet to eight stone

Richard Moore has been in care since he was 15.

Now 23, he has been sleeping rough on the streets of Norwich but after being robbed five times he now carries an iron bar for protection.

Richard was turned away from the YMCA after being categorised as "at risk" because he had a history of self-harm.

He claims he is one of 150 people sleeping rough in the city - a claim denied by the city council which is trying to improve its services for single homeless people.

"Sometimes I'd wake up absolutely drenched. I'd no change of clothes, no food, no money so I wouldn't get up - I'd just lay there hoping no one saw me," he said.

"I wanted to join the army but I'll have to put on three stone as I am 6ft 3in and weigh just eight stone now."

Fortunately Richard now has a roof over his head after being taken in, albeit temporarily, by 55-year-old former homeless man John Durrant.

Shane Atkinson and Richard Moore rifle through Iceland supermarket's bins for lunch. In pictures

Mr Durrant, who lives in Bowers Avenue, says there are still more than 100 men and women sleeping rough in the city as they have nowhere else to go,

"I have taken so many homeless people in and I always look out for them but at 55 I am getting too old for this," he said.

Norwich City Council said it believes there are only about four or five people sleeping rough in the city each night, but Mr Durrant calls this figure "rubbish".

The father-of-six has made it his personal crusade to highlight the problem in a bid to persuade Norwich City Council to build a day and night hostel for the homeless.

He is aware of tents pitched in a hidden corner of Ketts Hill, in car parks, squats and numerous doorways.

Many of the homeless scavenge for food from industrial bins belonging to the Iceland supermarket.

"The homeless have been forced into this since the night shelter at the old church in Oak Street closed down in 2001", Mr Durrant explained.

Shane Atkinson has been living in a tent for three months

"It's time the council woke up to the problem instead of just trying to sweep it under the carpet but it seems they are much more interested in tourism.

The homeless in Norwich are given a sandwich at lunchtime by homeless charity The Ark and a soup run is provided by the Salvation Army each night.

Despite now having a house, Mr Durrant's passion for getting the homeless off the streets has not diminished.

He said: "I have nothing but praise for all the charitable organisations in Norwich who look after the homeless but the city council need to pull its fingers out."

However, despite admitting they are always busy, Anna Hassan, manager of Bishopbridge House and the Contacting Assessing Prevention Service (CAPS) said: "We don't operate a waiting list but we are always full.

"If someone who is homeless comes to us on a daily basis we send them to the CAPS team.

"Very rarely do we have beds empty at nights. If any of our 30 beds becomes vacant we fill it as soon as we can."

Head of Strategic Housing at Norwich City Council, Kris Reeves, confirmed more than 300 beds are provided for vulnerable homeless people in the city each night.

"We know through weekly feedback from the homeless outreach team of St Martin's Housing Trust that on any one night approximately four people sleep rough in the city," he said.

In September the city council approved a new homelessness strategy to improve services for single homeless people.

And a new scheme will be introduced in November to ensure people leaving hostels are recognised as a housing priority.