A homeless man has been found dead near this theatre in Chatham.
© Google MapsA homeless man has been found dead near this theatre in Chatham.
Police were called to Solomons Road in Chatham, Kent, in sub-zero temperatures at 3.20am yesterday when the man, known locally as Greg, was discovered.

He had been sleeping rough with a group of three friends near the Central Theatre where TV Dancing on Ice star and Olympic gold medallist Robin Cousins was starring in Jack and the Beanstalk.

The tragedy comes less than a week after another homeless man, Michael McCluskey, was found dead a few minutes' walk away in Chatham High Street on Christmas Eve.

Festive shoppers hurried past the lifeless figure, not attempting to help, and when a security guard checked on him at 11.30am, he found Mr McCluskey was dead.

It was initially suspected that he had died of hypothermia although it has not been confirmed.

Police and ambulance crews were still at the scene as families started to arrive for the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime at theatre next door.

The double tragedy has led to renewed calls for Medway Council to do more to help those living on the streets.

Liz Shaw, from the volunteer group One Big Family, said "In this day and age there is nothing in Medway for homeless people apart from anything that volunteers run."

Labour group leader Vince Maple said "Yes, local councils are having budget reductions but no council should let its citizens die on its streets."

Greg was found less than five minutes away from where Mr McCluskey had been sleeping, in an empty shop doorway near the Poundland shop and Central Theatre.

Neil Charlick, from the volunteer group Medway Street Angels, said he met with Greg's friends and revealed "They are all in a bad way. They are lovely guys.

"When we first found Greg he was sleeping in the woods with just a dry cleaning bag.

"We gave him a sleeping bag and he used to go to Halfords and pick up a cardboard box to sleep on, using his coat as a pillow."

Last night was the first night Medway Council opened an emergency shelter to offer overnight help to rough sleepers.

People were assessed at Kingsley House in Gillingham and then directed to accommodation at different places around the area.

Enquiries are ongoing to locate Greg's next of kin.

A police spokesman said "The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner."

On social media today 'onthefence' wrote "Whatever his reasons for sleeping on the street no one deserves to die like that."

When Mr McCluskey was found on Christmas Eve, a stream of shoppers - condemned as 'sick' - rushed to take photos on their mobile phones to post to their friends on social media as emergency services battled in vain to save him.

He was discovered huddled in a doorway as shoppers hurried to make last-minute purchases, walking past and ignoring his plight in the mad rush to get their shopping done.

A shocking 3,500 people across Britain will have a cold pavement for a bed this New Year's Eve as homelessness soars.

The shameful figure is a third higher than this time last year and has doubled in five years.

Charities blame a lack of affordable homes, soaring rents and welfare cuts for homelessness on a scale they say just should not exist in 2016.

Paul Young, chief executive of Off The Fence, a charity in Brighton, said "Homelessness is an epidemic.

People are dying on the streets and it's a scandal."

The cap on benefits, a loss of trust in scandal-hit charities and a squeeze on public finances all add to the problem, he said.

"In 20 years we have never experienced such changes as we are facing."

Homelessness is also bringing increasing misery to families, with 124,000 children forced into temporary accommodation this Christmas - up 10 per cent on last year.

Last month the body of a homeless man was found tragically 'frozen to death' in Birmingham's city centre on the coldest night of the year.

Chiriac Inout was found dead near to an NCP car park as temperatures dropped to minus six.