'Discharged to the streets': a homeless man's struggle in freezing London

Richard Curtis, 66, was released from hospital as a snowstorm loomed. His story is typical

You have to be fast to survive on the streets, they say. That’s one thing Richard Curtis is not. Panting and stopping every 10 yards to catch his breath, he drags his suitcase through the brown slush in Covent Garden on Wednesday night on his way to a weekly street handout.

With an air temperature of -4C, for Richard it was like trying to breathe soup. The 66-year-old suffers from lung disease – stage IV chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – which cold air and large changes in temperature can badly aggravate. For a rough sleeper on the coldest week of the winter, it is a major handicap.

Related: UK weather: snow disruption continues with hundreds of drivers stranded – live

Continue reading... March 02, 2018 at 07:16PM