Homeless Man Forced To Sleep In Phone Box For Last Four Months

A homeless man has been forced to live in a phone box for the last four months.

Forty-two-year-old Stephen Pope turns the tiny space into a makeshift bedroom every night, shoving in a sleeping bag and a couple of duvets to keep him warm.

Stephen told Birmingham Live that he doesn't claim benefits and refuses to beg for food, so instead relies on the kindness of the shoppers who go in and out of the Aldi supermarket near where the phone box is.

He also says that residents nearby bring him hot food and drinks.

"It is a tough existence living in a phone box," he said.

"It can be so cold at night but the phone box offers me some shelter from the wind and rain and I can keep the few belongings I have dry.

"Each night I crouch down in the phone box and huddle up to my duvet and wait for morning to come. It is bitterly cold on some nights and it often feels like morning will never come."

Stephen has spent four years sleeping rough after losing his job as a demolition worked. He told the paper that he has friends and a brother he could turn to but he wouldn't like to be a 'burden'.

Opening up about his life, he told the paper he had previously slept on the streets of Birmingham city centre, but left after the drug 'Black Mamba' became popular - a drug which he says has taken the lives of many of his friends and which he avoids.

He said the kindness of others has blown away, telling the paper: "I refuse to beg for food and I don't receive any benefits - but people have been very kind to me.

"I receive food and drinks from passers-by and some of the people living in the houses nearby come and bring me hot food. They have shown me such kindness.

"The homeless outreach team have come to see me once but I haven't seen them again."

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Thinking about his future, Stephen said he would like to try and get a council flat near his friends and family, adding that he doesn't want to be moved into a hostel, because 'you end up mixing with people involved with drink and drugs'.

He said: "I would just love to be given a chance to have my own flat and find employment again."

Source: Birmingham Live

Featured Image Credit: BPM Media

Topics: UK News, Homelessness, Homeless

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19