Man released early from prison lives in tent under a bridge wishing he was back inside
“I would rather reoffend and go back to prison than be homeless. When I was behind bars it’s scary. There’s violence happening, and it’s hard. But out here you are all on your own. ”
These are the words of one former prisoner, Warren Rees, who is living underneath a cold, wet bridge and has been released early from Bridgend Parc Prison. Underneath the bridge, which has cars running over it, you can hear the sound of the vehicles above, and there is little protection from the wind, which rushes through beneath.
Warren has positioned his tent on some stone, because the grass in the area becomes too damp. He is also located just next to a river, which he occasionally bathes in. Describing what it is like to sleep there, he noted: "The ground is hard, and it's not easy to sleep on. Sometimes you can't sleep at all and you're just living day by day."
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He is one of the 1700 prisoners released earlier this month after mounting pressure in UK prisons, and although he wants the chance to have a fresh start in life, things are not so simple.
Warren, 39, has been given jail sentences twice in the last year. First, he pleaded guilty in Cardiff Magistrates' Court to possession of an offensive weapon and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on September 25, 2023. A few months later, he was in Cardiff Crown Court on January 25. There he pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and was given a sentence of 30 months. He served time first in HMP Cardiff and then Parc Prison, Bridgend, and would still be inside were it not for the early release programme. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing Wales, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Before spending time in prison, he was living in council housing which he lost his tenancy for when he went back into prison this year. When he was released, he spent his first night under the bridge with no sleeping bag, tent or blankets. He is now relying on the support of local charities who have provided him with supplies including a tent and blankets, but he is still wearing the same clothes he left prison in.
He said: "It's hard, to be honest. It's better in prison. No worries. Until it's time to come back out. It's not a life. I'd rather be in a house living a full life and you toss and turn at night. You're worried in case someone does something to your tent but in prison the door's locked, job's done."
Warren is far from the only prisoner to find themselves on the streets after being released. In the year from April 2023 to March 2024, 12.3% of released prisoners had nowhere to go and became homeless on release, according to the Offender Accommodation Outcomes - Statistical Summary. And the issue is part of a wider problem, with one study showing 60% of prisoners said that having a place to live would stop them reoffending, according to the Prison Reform Trust.
Warren lost connection with friends and family after being sentenced, and says he is doing his best to stay out of trouble and move on with his life. “My parents died when I was younger. I went down the wrong route and after that had relationship breakdowns with my siblings when I was making mistakes", he noted.
“I have a daughter who I can’t see, and I get that. But I always wanted to get know her. She changed my world. I own up to it all. My auntie also lives in Bridgend and she is happy to let me have a shower at her house and wash my clothes but she’s also sick, and I don’t want to be a burden to her.”
Warren is currently supported by charities, including the Wallich, which has a branch in Bridgend, and BARC Community Outreach Centre. He goes to BARC every morning to receive meals, and says the charity has been “a life saver.”
“I like to keep out of the way. I don’t want any trouble”, Warren explained. He has avoided sleeping on the streets themselves and has chosen to base himself under a bridge in the M4 for the time being, until he can find permanent accommodation and a place to settle.
Warren hides his tent and bedding in a location away from where he is sleeping, so it doesn’t get stolen, and notes he needs more bedding to protect him from the cold but would struggle to carry anything else around and keep it safe.
“Some people in town are sleeping on the streets but I don’t want that. I don’t want to get involved in anything. I just want to live a normal life but that’s not so easy when you first get out”, he said.
Although things are difficult now, Warren has fond memories of his earlier life and childhood. He says, with a smile as he tells WalesOnline; “We used to do everything. Days out. I had a good upbringing but then I lost them when I was 14.
“I had a lovely family, to be honest. I had everything I wanted. We would go camping. We had dogs. And then I lost it when my mother died from an illness. My dad killed himself after that. I’ve not cried since I was 14. I have never been able to grieve for my parents and I’m not sure I ever will.”
Looking ahead, he believes he is now ready to live a stable life after years of struggling, and says he regrets the things he did when he was younger.
“I have grown up now and I am not that person any more. I do want a second chance. I would snap someone’s hand off if they wanted me to work for them. I can do all sorts and am good with construction and all that.
“I used to think I was unstoppable but I got on the wrong side of the road. I have done all my bad behaviour and it’s time to grow up now and act my age. I want a life. I had a good life then and a lot has happened since.
“I have made mistakes which I fully own up to but I know I’ve changed now. I want a house, a family and to enjoy life again. I don’t want to end up back where I was but it is difficult. It’s really hard when you’ve got nowhere to go.”
Considering the position he is currently in, Warren also feels that former prisoners need more support as they step back into the real world, noting: “When you’re doing your sentence, at Parc Prison, there are loads of certificates you have to pass and tests you have to do to be able to get onto certain levels and take part in different workshops.
“It feels like you’re heading towards something but it’s hard when you come out to stay on that path. There will be loads of people who have been released early that are in the exact same position.
“They’ll want to make a change and do better but it’s more difficult than that if you’ve not got a roof over your head.”
Ffion Evans, who works at BARC, Bridgend said: “We are having a large number of clients coming in now and a lot of them are being released from prison early and it is quite sad because a lot of them are being released with no housing so we are seeing a large number of homeless people coming in.
“We obviously do a drop in service where they’re coming in for breakfast and lunch and what we’re noticing as well is that it does seem to be affecting their mental health, too, because they’ve got nowhere to go.
“Some people are saying that it would be easier to go back into prison. They’ve got food and a roof over their head in there, whereas they’re getting released and they’re coming back onto the streets.
“We see the impact straight away, and they often they come straight to us as soon as they are released so there has been a lot of discussion from us as support workers as to what we can do, and how we can boost the support we can give, like having conversations with them to see if there’s any other routes they can go down, but there is only so much we can do.
“It is often a learning curve as well trying to find out how we can help them get the accommodation they need because it’s not easy for them, and it does impact their mental health a lot.”
Thomas Holick, the Policy and Public Affairs Coordinator at the Wallich, believes that the impact of prisoners being released early is going to be widely felt in Wales. He said: “We are facing a homelessness crisis in Wales at the moment, with huge numbers of people not having anywhere to live and accessing emergency or temporary accommodation through local authorities.
“This is a larger issue, but our main concern is that people being released from prison early will be more likely to face the same issue. We’ve known for a long time that people leaving prison without somewhere to live is a major driver of homelessness.
“It’s fairly common especially if they have lost their home when they go into prison or had a relationship breakdown with family members and it requires a lot of different agencies working together including the prison’s probation first and foremost, but also the police, local authorities, the housing department and organisations like us try and pull together to make sure that people released do have somewhere to go but obviously there’s huge, huge demands in the system.
“All too often people do fall through the cracks, unfortunately. The lack of stable accommodation is also the number one driver of re-offending as well I would say, which is not what we want to see."