Man ‘sleeping in bin shed’ in North London dies on freezing cold night
A man has died after reportedly after 'sleeping in a bin shed' in Camden on a night when temperatures were as low as -7C. He was taken to hospital after officers were called to South End Close, Hampstead, on Saturday, January 11 at around 9.20am to concerns about a man’s welfare. He later died while in hospital.
Police have said they are working to identify him and his next of kin. His death is being treated as unexpected but not suspicious, police say.
The death reportedly comes after a man was spotted sleeping rough in the bin sheds on the estate, reports the Camden New Journal. He had been there for the past couple of weeks, residents told them.
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A local business owner told MyLondon he had seen the police cordon and been told by an officer that a 'homeless man was sleeping there so the ambulance took him as he was unresponsive and [I] was told that he passed away'. He added: "It was freezing, I remember that, those few days."
A resident in the area also told MyLondon that while they hadn’t seen the specific incident, they were aware of rough sleepers using the bin sheds on the estate. She said: “There was a man who was sleeping in the bin sheds one morning. I saw the sleeping bags in one of the bins. We also had some people trying to sleep in our stairwell.”
A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 10.53am on Saturday 11 January to reports of an incident in South End Close, NW3.
“We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews. The first of our crews arrived in less than two minutes. Our crews treated a man at the scene. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our emergency responders, he died.”
'We are deeply saddened to hear of this person’s death'
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of this person’s death - our condolences are with all who knew them. The identity of the person has yet to be formally confirmed, however Camden’s outreach service offered them support including accommodation, emergency supplies and advice.
“The housing crisis has hit London the hardest and we are seeing high numbers of homelessness and people sleeping rough. It’s deeply concerning that members of our community have to live on the streets. However, we are doing all we can to address this, including investing more than £26 million into our rough sleeping support and wider homelessness services, building hundreds of new social homes and larger family homes, building more hostels and buying back homes for local people.
“We have been helping the most vulnerable people access support and accommodation during this particularly cold period - assisting 54 people off the streets and into accommodation on the days Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) was activated. We will continue to do all we can to support anyone in Camden who is sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness.”
MyLondon understands that this person was offered accommodation and support by Camden Council's outreach team but this wasn't taken up.
Got a story? Please get in touch at katherine.gray@reachplc.com
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