A homeless man has thanked residents for helping him return to his "former life" in an emotional letter that can be found on a wall in Wimbledon Village.

The man, known as Robert, said he relocated to the village in the hopes to seek safety from the "horrors of Wimbledon Broadway."

In the letter, as seen by Wimbledon Times, Robert highlighted how kind-hearted residents pressured the council to help him.

He said: "I arrived here in the village seeking safety from the horrors of Wimbledon Broadway, though sadly there was to be no immediate escape from the indifference of our wonderful local council.

"For the next three months you good people inundated me not only with kindness and generosity but also your friendship, in a manner I'd never encountered on the streets before.

"Being homeless is no fun at all, but collectively you made it bearable, if such a situation should ever have to be borne by anyone, and of all the dangers one has to face on the streets, loneliness and depression are by far the most destructive.

"Your efforts averted them, to the point where it was, in many ways an enjoyable experience. "

Robert also went onto thank those who made representations on behalf of himself to Merton Council.

Stock image

Stock image

"Throughout that time a stream of outreach workers from ThamesReach, the result of your numerous calls, forty nine in total, to Streetlink, never stopped hammering away at Merton Council," he said.

"Eventually the pressure paid off; within a further month I was suitably housed on the Kings Road, Chelsea.

"Such a spectacular result was finally brought about in no small measure by the tireless efforts of an energetic council officer, Geoffrey George, a man full of enthusiasm and purpose, a man whose job is also a vocation.

"So, the nightmare is now over and I can resume to my former life, a process that is already underway."

Since being rehomed, Robert has been busy fixing his resume, competing job applications, resolving his debt and reconnecting with his old friends.

"I fully expect to be off the welfare bill within two or three months," he said.

"A hero of mine once said 'I shall return', and I can think of no finer community within to reside than yours.

"And so that has become my next goal, to return to live among you before Xmas."

Councillor Martin Whelton, cabinet member for housing, regeneration and the climate emergency at Merton Council, said: “Every case of rough sleeping is a tragedy, and our night outreach team endeavours to place each rough sleeper into emergency accommodation as quickly as possible. This enables our Housing Team to make contact the next day to provide further assistance.

“Since March 2020, we have been placing rough sleepers with a connection to Merton into accommodation under the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ initiative, which was brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date we have placed 126 rough sleepers into temporary accommodation through this initiative. Of these, 43 were moved on to more stable accommodation (shared housing in the private rented sector), and 28 are now in settled accommodation such as private rented sector tenancies.

“Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases, we do sometimes face delays in offering assistance to rough sleepers. Usually this is either because individuals refuse emergency accommodation, or because our Housing Team is unable to find them in person or contact them by phone.

“Despite the difficulties in finding suitable and sustainable accommodation for the most vulnerable members of our society we continue to always do our best to help people off the streets. If you know anyone who is rough sleeping, you can refer them to us by emailing housingstrategy@merton.gov.uk”