Author makes million pound pledge to homeless

Buy photos » Rob Shoesmith is willing to give his home away if he sells one million copies of his new ibook (s)

A FORMER binman has pledged to donate his house to a homeless charity if he sells one million copies of his new ibook.

Rob Shoesmith, from Whitley, hit the headlines in 2009 when he created an agony aunt app for the iPhone called Problem Halved – a virtual community dedicated to solving all sorts of problems.

It took off and landed him a job with MedlMobile, a company based in America which develops mobile technology.

And now he has written Bin There Done That which tells his life story.

Included in the book was his own social experiment when he camped outside the Apple store in Central London for ten nights ahead of the UK launch of the iPhone 4s.

The 30-year-old former Woodlands School pupil did not spend any of his own money and had to reply on handouts and sponsorship.

"I wasn't expecting to come into contact with the homeless," Rob told the Observer.

"But I connected with these people during my time on the streets and I want to raise awareness of the some the problems they suffer like anxiety and depression.

"Throughout the course of my 10 day camp out the homeless people outside the Apple Store played a huge part in helping me get through to the end, and I was motivated to stick with it so I could give away some of the camping equipment to people who really did need it!"

His book is available on iTunes, priced at 99p.

"It's been a rollercoaster last few years for me," Rob added.

"I'm now hoping my I can do something other than rattle a collection tin or collect loose change to help those who need it most."

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