Poison fears for Liverpool’s rough-sleepers amid claim pedestrian handed homeless man ‘plate of chips laced by ARSENIC’
- The homeless man in his 30s collapsed after eating chips in Liverpool on Sunday
- He claims last thing he remembered was being given the food by a passer by
- In November, thugs put a lit firework into a homeless person’s pocket in the city
A homeless has claimed he was poisoned with arsenic by a passer-by who gave him a plate of chips.
The man, in his thirties, said he remembered being handed a tray of chips on Castle Street in Liverpool city centre on Sunday before coming round in the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
Homeless campaigner Michelle Langan, who runs the Papercup homeless outreach project in the city, said the man in question is someone she visits regularly.
She said: ‘He told us he had just got out of the Royal – he said the last thing he remembers was being given some chips on Castle Street yesterday.
‘He said he woke up in hospital today and they told him he had arsenic in his system – someone had sprinkled it on the chips, he reckoned.’
The man, who is in his 30s, said the last thing he could remember before waking up in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, pictured, was eating a plate of chips
The man was sitting on Castle Street in Liverpool when he collapsed after eating the chips
Ms Langan said the man was speaking to police and had told her that the chips had been taken away for investigation.
Merseyside Police said they have no reports of this incident and Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust said they have no record of the patient being admitted.
If the claim is true, this is not the first time rough sleepers in the city have been attacked or targeted by members of the public.
In November, a homeless man had a lit firework placed in his trouser pocket by a cruel passer-by, which left him with burns and damaged clothes.
Ms Langan said while the vast majority of people are kind to those they pass on the streets, she worries about some of the sinister incidents she has seen.
She said: ‘I’m shocked to be honest – in all the years we have heard some horrible stuff, like the man with the firework, but this seems more calculated and evil.
‘I’m just glad he was OK – it could have been a horrible ending to the story.’
Homeless charity Crisis revealed that last year more than one in three homeless people were deliberately hit, kicked or experienced some form of physical violence.
More than one in three had things thrown at them, while almost one in ten were urinated on. Almost one in 20 rough sleepers were the victims of sexual assault.
Merseyside Police Inspector Andy Creer said: ‘We take all reports of crime against members of our community seriously.
‘On this occasion we have had no reports of this incident but continue to work with the local authority and The Whitechapel (homeless) Centre to support rough sleepers, those living in temporary accommodation or people at risk of becoming homeless.
‘We continue to ask those living, working and visiting Merseyside to look out for each other and urge anyone that has been a victim of crime to get in touch so we can investigate accordingly.’
A spokesman for Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘We have had no reports of this patient at all. We have no further comment to make.’