Man slept in graveyard amid Cornwall housing crisis

A man who slept in a tent in a graveyard in Cornwall for months has said the council should invest in more social housing.

Chris Davies said that despite earning a good wage and having a deposit at the time he was made homeless, he could not find anywhere to live in Cornwall.

Mr Davies, 51, said he believed more affordable homes were urgently needed.

Cornwall Council said the county continued to experience "extreme and unprecedented pressures" on housing.   

Mr Davies was born in Penzance and worked as an assistant site manager in the building trade until four years ago.

He said everything changed when his girlfriend died suddenly and he had to leave the home they had shared as "I wasn't entitled to live there".

He said there was "no way I could get a flat" because "I would say about 80% of them were taken up" with holiday lets.

He said he ended up homeless and, as a result, could not continue to work.

Mr Davies said Cornwall Council should do more to "prevent the spread of second homes".

He said he had spent the last four years with his 12-year-old dog, Max, in and out of temporary accommodation and sofa-surfing, as well as living in a tent in the grounds of Camborne Church.

The churchyard currently has five occupied tents in it.

Mr Davies said: "Quite a lot of people don't like the tents here, which is understandable. It's a lovely space, but where else is there to go":[]}