Heartbreaking pic shows scared elderly woman sleeping rough on street that highlights homeless crisis on UK’s streets
A HEARTBREAKING picture shows an elderly woman sleeping rough under a duvet on a Manchester street – highlighting the homeless crisis in the UK.
The scared pensioner was found shivering as she slept rough this week, with just a tarpaulin between her and the cold ground.
Volunteers who came across the older woman, sleeping alone on the shopping street, said she was very confused.
It still isn’t clear how she ended up alone and on the streets, the concerned locals said.
Earlier this year charity bosses warned the UK is facing a homelessness crisis after Government data showed more than 75,000 families were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless before lockdown.
The pandemic has seen many Brits struggle to retain work and pay rent, with it feared the problem will worsen.
Do you know the elderly woman or had you seen her sleeping on the streets? Get in touch on 02077824368 or tips@the-sun.co.uk
A member of the Don’t Walk Past organisation first saw the elderly woman on Tuesday evening.
One of the volunteers posted the heartbreaking image on Facebook, with it soon going viral as dozens of people offered to help.
Lauren Jones told the Manchester Evening News: “She was very confused.
“She was scared. She was sitting on a tarpaulin, with just a duvet. She was freezing cold.
“She said she’s been moved on from where she’d been. She was in Piccadilly Gardens.
‘SHE WAS SCARED’
“It was scary for her, there were lots of noises. She said it was like ‘Armageddon’.
“We’re still trying to find out what happened to her, how she ended up on the streets.”
The group have put her up in a hotel and given her a new phone, while they continue to help her with the council’s assistance.
A Manchester council spokesman said: “We are pleased to see that quick action was taken to get this woman off the streets and into safe, stable accommodation.
“Our outreach team worked alongside homelessness charities and organisations to find her after being alerted on Wednesday.
“While we were unsuccessful, we were relieved to learn that she had been found by a partner charity.”
Manchester is now in Tier 3 and living with the toughest of the coronavirus restrictions.
Locals in the region are unable to mix indoors or outdoors, with many businesses forced to shut down once more.
It comes after footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign to get free meals for vulnerable kids in the holidays sparked hundreds of businesses UK-wide offering food.
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