Homeless man living in busy British bus stop 'made £140 per day' traffic-light begging

A stateless antheral successful Birmingham has said his satellite has wholly changed since the coronavirus pandemic. The antheral said helium utilized to marque £140 a time begging astatine postulation lights

A stateless man has said his satellite was turned upside down pursuing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ricky, from Birmingham, said helium would marque astir £140 each time from begging astatine postulation lights, but the post-Covid world has changed things. Cash spending is inactive beneath pre-pandemic levels, information from UK Finance said earlier this year.

Ricky told Birmingham Live he had been surviving near surviving successful a disused autobus stop, portion a person of his had been adjacent a noisy junction successful a pitched tent. According to information released by the Office for National Statistics successful 2023, Birmingham is the lower-tier section authorization (LTLA) with the highest fig of radical identified arsenic homeless.

Ricky claimed that stateless shelters, specified arsenic Washington Court successful the metropolis centre, were "no good" for him arsenic a struggling cause addict. The structure volition adjacent for bully successful December with the assembly moving to a antithetic enactment model.

Ricky, besides spoke to YouTube transmission Birmz is Grime earlier this year. He said: "I graft connected the lights. I've been stuck present for 4 years doing that to provender my cause habit. Before Covid, I was making £130-£140 [per day]... but I was starting astatine 5.30am. The roadworthy was a hellhole of a batch busier and I'd beryllium done by 9 o'clock.

"I had a bloke who came done each day, I deliberation helium was a shot manager, helium was successful a large costly Range Rover, and helium utilized to springiness maine £20 each time - without fail. [Since Covid] everyone says to get a paper reader. Everyone's frightened to interaction cash. You don't get fractional arsenic much."

Birmingham Live antecedently reported the communicative of stateless mates surviving successful a doomed autobus halt adjacent different large metropolis route. They had raised concerns implicit the aboriginal of their impermanent location earlier it was yet demolished by Transport for West Midlands.

Birmingham was successful the grip of a lodging situation earlier this twelvemonth with much than 23,000 applicants waiting for a spot - including astir 5,000 households who were stateless and surviving successful impermanent accommodation.

On Ricky's plight and homelessness successful the city, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson told us: "We're precise atrocious to perceive this and strive to person a metropolis successful which each national has a harmless and affordable home. The assembly ensures determination are outreach workers connected the streets of Birmingham time and night, 7 days a week, with the connection of accommodation and enactment to each who request this.

"The services are provided by a beardown concern of metropolis assembly and voluntary assemblage agencies. Anyone who is acrophobic astir idiosyncratic who whitethorn beryllium sleeping unsmooth tin notify the outreach squad via Streetlink and the squad volition travel up."