David Sutcliffe has been homeless since returning to the UK
A homeless pensioner found starving in a town centre has been told he is not eligible for shelter from his local council as he has been living abroad.
David Sutcliffe, 82, has been forced to sleep rough since returning home to the UK earlier this month after two years living in Spain.
David was found by police on the streets of Bournemouth, Dorset, after a member of the public noticed he was so malnourished his trousers were falling down.
Officers found the elderly man clutching a letter from Bournemouth Borough Council telling him he was not entitled to help as despite being a British Citizen he had failed the 'Habitual Residence Test'.
Bournemouth Borough Council said he had failed the 'Habitual Residence Test'
He was taken to local charity Hope for Food who are now temporarily housing him in B&Bs through public donations.
Claire Matthews, founder of the charity, told Sun Online it has been left to volunteers to help David and try and trace his estranged son.
She said: "It's a disgrace that in 21st century Britain an 82-year-old man can be living on the streets and no-one wants to take responsibility.
"He's been passed from pillar to post and in the end it's been left to a charity and the kindness of members of the public to put a roof over his head.
"The police who brought him to us were lovely but had run out of options. Someone had called them after noticing David was so skinny his trousers were falling down.
"He's got nothing. Literally the clothes on his back and a carrier bag full of papers yet still the council seem to think he should just be left to head out into the world and get on with it."
Following a Facebook appeal, members of the public have donated more than £800 to Hope for Food to house David for the next few days.
David is said to be in a frail and confused state and was found with just the clothes on his back and documents in a carrier bag.
She did that in her enthusiastic hope that 'public servants' would see sense and be 'fair', that they would somehow feel motivated by their inner goodness to be helpful and compassionate.
The reality is that 'public servants' are not motivated by anything but targets and tick boxes. That's what pulls in their wages.
And this is the result - sheer, unfettered callousness, compounded by an unholy addiction to jobsworth rules, commonplace negligence, and a huge dose of 'damn you Jack, I'm ok'.
There are hundreds of thousands in the UK today who are suffering like this poor man. It's not an isolated case by any measure. All of these poor people know this 'pillar to post', signposting churn (aka passing the buck) ad nauseum.
Yet the UK is a 'leading 1st world nation', one of the top 5 wealthiest on the planet.
It is not only inexcusable, it's evil at work - up close and personal.