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Outrage after council cordons off homeless man from public view

The ‘de-humanising’ barriers around the spot where the rough sleeper lives (SWNS)
The ‘de-humanising’ barriers around the spot where the rough sleeper lives (SWNS)

Nottingham City Council has been accused of ‘de-humanising’ a homeless man after they cordoned him off from public view.

The council put up bright yellow plastic barriers emblazoned with hazard warning signs around the derelict shop where he sleeps .

To add to the humiliation, Community Protection Officers then put up a hand-written note shaming the 27-year-old for refusing hotel accommodation.

The sign – later removed by council staff – read: ‘This man has refused to take a [sic] offer from Framework of 3 nights in a hotel.’

But the man, who does not want to be named, has claimed he is unable to take up the offer of accommodation in Derby because he has faced ‘problems’ there before.

The spot is in Nottingham city centre (SWNS)
The spot is in Nottingham city centre (SWNS)

The man, who sleeps on Central Parliament Street in Nottingham city centre, said: ‘It’s just making me feel wound up.

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‘They’ve put this sign up and they’ve said I was begging, but I wasn’t.

‘These people said I could sleep at this doorway because it’s a closed down shop.

‘I’ve got reasons why I’ve refused the hotel because there’s problems in Derby.

‘I’m on bail for begging in Derby, that’s the truth why I’m not allowed to be there. And that’s it.

‘They’re p** me off and they’ve annoyed me so much in the last three months, and I don’t know why they’ve put this sign here.

‘They’ve never done anything like that here before.’

Campaigners have lashed out at the treatment given to the rough sleeper.

Homeless charity Framework, which supports rough sleepers in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, claimed the barrier had ‘absolutely nothing to do’ with the organisation.

The council also fixed a note to the partition (SWNS)
The council also fixed a note to the partition (SWNS)

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Denis Tully, chief executive of Nottingham homeless charity Emmanuel House, said: ‘To put up a sign is a very dehumanising thing to do and it’s not where we would want to go.

‘In terms of the barrier, again I think it’s a question of whether it actually contributes to someone’s human dignity.’

He added: ‘It’s got a warning symbol on it – what is the warning symbol warning people against?’

Labour Councillor Toby Neal though said the barriers were there to protect the man’s privacy.

Claiming that the letter was the result of ‘frustration’, he added: ‘I think the sign was a mistake.

‘If I’m honest I think it was probably a bit of frustration from somebody who’s been dealing with somebody for three days.

‘But they understand it was a mistake and it’s not what our policy is about.

The council insisted the barriers were there for the homeless man’s privacy (SWNS)
The council insisted the barriers were there for the homeless man’s privacy (SWNS)

“Our policy about making sure vulnerable people are protected and preferably off the streets if we can.

It comes after it was revealed that some of the UK’s rough sleepers are being rounded-up, fined and deported amid a surge of homelessness.

It is claimed that as many as 28 councils are looking at ways to fine homeless people in a bid to discourage antisocial behaviour.

The Government has pledged to halve homelessness by 2022 and eradicate it by 2027.