Council defends position over homeless man's death

A council has defended the management of rough sleepers following backlash on social media over the death of a homeless man.

Lincolnshire Police said the man was found dead in Drummond Road, Skegness, shortly after 08:30 GMT on 27 December 2024. His death was not suspicious and the coroner had been informed.

Posts on social media had criticised the local authority for not helping him.

However, East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) said he had been offered accommodation on "many occasions", even three days before his death, but he had refused their help, including an offer of "transport back to his local connection".

In a statement, ELDC said: "On the day he died, the coldest temperatures during the night and on that day were 8C, according to the MET office. He was seen at 05:30 on the day of his death and found later in the day."

It added there would be no further comment on the case as it was awaiting a report from the coroner into the cause of his death.

Councillor William Gray said: "We're very sorry for the incident that did occur on the streets of Skegness."

He said the council's homeless outreach team had done all they could to help rough sleepers in the town, including 17 in the past week, of which seven had refused help.

Gray explained the team could not force homeless people to move into overnight accommodation but would do "all they can to encourage them".

"Once they are coming to a safe, warm space, there are support services there available to them," he added.

Gray said the authority had found more people on the streets with lifestyles that he described as "chaotic" during 2024, with issues such as mental health, drug and alcohol addiction among the main problems for them "to maintain a tenancy".

"We encourage anybody who is sleeping rough whilst it's cold at this moment in time to please make contact with us," he said.

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