A HOMELESS man remains in hospital after being treated for severe third-degree burns – more than a week after a passing stranger set him alight while he slept in Coventry.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson told us today: “He is still in hospital. Enquiries remain on going.”
The ‘disgusting’ attack at the Swanswell Park and Pool on Stoney Stanton Road, city centre, which we reported last week, has drawn condemnation from across the city.
A fundraiser to support the victim in his recovery is now nearing its £1,000 target – on £921.
Police say the victim awoke due to his burns to see a man not known to him inflicting the damage – while another watched on.
The man had set his victim on fire after pouring lighter fluid on his hands, the police added.
On her GoFundMe page, Abbie Davies, a support worker at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, wrote: “I know some of the people of Coventry would love to help him in his recovery and show him that not everyone is evil and that people can be kind.
“I’m sure his faith in humanity is really low right now. This has really affected me and made me angry!”
Latest government figures show there are 25 people sleeping on city streets on any given night, nearly triple the number there was in 2017.
The newly released figures also show rough sleeping has more than tripled in the West Midlands since 2010 – with 182 rough sleepers in 2010, compared with 420 now.
Homelessness charity Crisis says people sleeping rough are almost 17 times more likely to be victims of violence.
Chief executive of homelessness charity Coventry Cyrenians Mike Fowler said: “It says so much about attitudes to rough sleepers.
“When something like this happens, it shows some people still feel rough sleepers are lesser people – and that somehow this sort of behaviour is acceptable.”
A Coventry Police spokesperson said last week (January 29): “We are appealing for information after a homeless man was deliberately burnt some time between 10pm on Saturday, January 26 and the early hours of Sunday, January 27.
“If you saw any suspicious behaviour in the area that night, get in touch with police.”
If you have information contact police via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, call 101 anytime or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Quote crime reference 20CV/22158U/19.
