A man from Bamber Bridge has called on the city to act following footage of threats made to a homeless man.
AdvertisementThe video, which was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook, shows a man sleeping rough in the Market car park.
Police said during the incident on 8 September he was threatened with a knife, threatened verbally and then had his sleeping bag and possessions burned.
Now 33-year-old Ste Brown has set up a fundraising page to ensure some good comes from the anger many Prestonians feel.
He’s called on people to donate to a GoFundMe page to help the Fox Street shelter ensure the man gets the help he needs.
Ste said: “The circumstances around homelessness can be complicated so I don’t want to make any assumptions on the gentleman’s situation, but the video footage was horrific.
“I noticed several people commenting on the original article wanting to replace the gentleman’s items, and felt the same way, so I set up a fundraising page so people could donate a little towards that if they wanted to.
“The intentions behind setting up the page was just to try and make good of a bad situation. There is more good than bad in the world but I can imagine that may be difficult to see in his situation. If our attempt of fundraising can go further than that and make a real positive difference to his life then that would be amazing.”
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On Friday police said two teenagers, a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, both from Preston, had been released on bail pending further enquiries after being arrested for affray.
You may have seen the disturbing video footage of a homeless man in Preston being attacked and his belongings set on fire. This is why we need safe spaces like Foxton and those provided by other charities in the city.
Lets keep people safe— The Foxton Centre (@TheFoxtonCentre) September 27, 2018
The identity of the homeless man is not yet known but services such as The Foxton Centre said they were working to help him.
You can make a donation to the Fox Street fundraiser here.
Read more: Fight against rough sleeping in Preston receives funding boost