Exeter M5 dweller finds friends

KINDHEARTED residents  have been supporting  a homeless man since reading about  his plight in the Echo.

Aaron Walwork has also  been told he may be given accommodation during the cold  weather  following  talks with  the council.

As previously reported, for  the last six months Mr Wallwork  has been sleeping rough  on a slab of concrete on the  embankment under the M5 at  the Sandygate roundabout at  Sowton, Exeter.

Since the Echo’s article, he  has received  food, with one motorist regularly taking him  pints of milk.

 But the 30-year-old has also  been the victim of attacks, including being pelted with  eggs.

He said: “The support has  been really good and has definitely increased since I was in  the paper.

“There has been a bit of grief  from some boy racers, who  have been shouting insults,  and the egg throwing was pretty horrible, but generally the  reception has been positive.

“The best thing about the  article was that it has opened  people’s minds to what’s happening on the streets.”

Mr Wallwork, who suffers  from mental health problems,  has rejected places in Exeter’s  hostels because he says he does  not want to be tempted back  into a lifestyle of drug abuse.  He wants help from the council  to find a home and claims he is  a victim of council bureaucracy — a claim housing officers  deny.

Homeless support group Crisis has expressed concern  about his situation.

Made homeless when a relationship broke down five  years ago, Mr Wallwork drifted  into alcohol and drug abuse,  using heroin.

He says he is no longer an  addict and is keen to distance  himself from the people who  might tempt him back into his  old ways.

He says he approached both  Exeter City Council and East  Devon District Council last  year for help with accommodation.

And housing officers believe  they may now be able to offer  some temporary help.

Chris Hancock, housing  needs manager for Exeter City  Council, said: “Because the  weather is predicted to be so  cold, accommodation has been  made available while the  weather is cold.

“The end of the cold weather  doesn’t appear to be in sight, so  that’s ongoing at the moment.

 “We would be keen to get  him indoors if he chooses to  pursue that as an option.

 “We’ll then be trying to work  with him longer term when the  weather does warm up.”

Since taking up residence  under the motorway flyover in  August, Mr Wallwork has lived  on waste food taken from the  bins of nearby fast-food restaurants.

And he keeps warm thanks  to a blanket donated by a  motorist. He says he has not  claimed benefits for six months  and  is keen to get his life back  on track and find a permanent  home.