The people who set a homeless man’s sleeping bag was alight as he lay inside it, leaving him with burns to his legs and feet, have been branded as “shameful and appalling”.
Police have launched an appeal for witnesses to the incident, which happened in the doorway of the Cotswold Outdoor Shop in Western Road at 2.12am on Monday.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue were called to a report of some burning cardboard in the doorway of Cotswold Outdoor shop in Western Road at 2.12am on Monday (7 March). They contacted police to say the fire was suspicious.
At 3.37am an ambulance crew reported that they had been called to a man in London Road who said he had suffered burns to his legs and feet after he woke up and his sleeping bag was on fire while sleeping in a doorway in Western Road.
The 39-year-old victim ran off and later called an ambulance. He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, to be treated for his injuries.
Detective Sergeant James Meanwell said: “This was a nasty assault on a homeless man while he was sleeping. We would like to hear from anyone who
was in the area at the time or has any information to contact us or to speak to one of the city’s street team officers.”
The attack has also been condemned by council leader Warren Morgan, who said: “This is shameful and appalling – I hope someone will come forward with evidence that helps identify and prosecute the person that did this.”
Contact police by emailing 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or phone 101 quoting serial 68 of 07/03.
It takes a special kind of f***** to do that.
Anything we can do to help the poor guy involved ?
What kind of a scumbag does that? I hope the man hurt makes a good recovery. I also hope he wasn’t discharged to sleep on the street in that condition. Brighton needs to addresd its homelessness problem.
Setting fire to someone obviously in no way compares to setting fire to their belongings. However, last time I was in Brighton, a homeless couple told me that absolutely every single thing they owned had disappeared from the bush in the park they were sleeping under. They had hidden it well “to make the park look nice” they said, but when they went back, everything was gone! Someone said that it had been cleared and to go to the police station. They understood, they didn’t want to cause a problem, and they went to the police to ask for their belongings returned. The police officer said: “We burned them. We are allowed”. (They are). I really didn’t know what to say to this couple. They had gone from owning so little – the basics to survive outdoors together – to nothing at all. If this is the message the police is giving to Brightonians about homeless people, it is not going to do anything to stop awful events such as the one above. I talked to that shocked couple over a year ago. The idea still upsets me to this day. I keep imagining the public servants in the police staton informing them what happened. And wondering what had happened between recruitment and then to make him think this was morally ok. Or if that person was actually feeling something different inside. Sad.
I work as a volunteer at a night for the homeless,I cook breakfast for them in the morning. I’ve heard thire story’s.its not the life they want. It sadness me how a man down on his luck could have been killed. Are not thire lives hard enough by these homless a hot drink or a meal their people
To set fire to any persons sleeping bag is utterly crazy, not even for a laugh but to do it to a homeless person who is as low as they can get in there lives is just sick, i volunteer at the night shelters and have done since November when it started, i myself was homeless for 13years in Brighton and have experienced every means of cruelty that is emaginable, Sick, Sick, Sick, as it makes me so Angry even now as im 3years off the streets, GOD BLESS Those that help the Homeless but Good luck to the cruel people or persons that pray on vulnerable Homeless people as one day they are going to have a shock when the sleeping bag they set fire to belongs to the 6foot4 giant whos just been released from prison for violent offences, ive seen it happen with my own eyes and it aint a pretty situation to watch, anyway hope the person whos bag was set fire to is ok, chin up, keep going, dont look back always look forward, you are as far down as u can be, THE ONLY WAYS UP!!!!!!!!!