Homeless man living in busy Birmingham bus stop 'made £140 per day' traffic-light begging

A homeless man living in a city bus stop - just metres away from another rough sleeper in a tent - said he was "making £140" per day from begging at traffic lights - before the pandemic changed the world. Ricky said Birmingham had moved closer to being a cashless city post-Covid - making it much harder to earn.

He told BirminghamLive he had been living in the disused bus stop, near one of the city's busiest commuter routes, "long enough". He said his friend, who we did not meet, was living in a tent pitched up at the edge of the noisy junction, in what was another shocking illustration of the city's homelessness crisis.

Ricky claimed that homeless shelters, such as Washington Court in the city centre, were "no good" for him as a struggling drug addict. The shelter will close for good in December with the council moving to a different support model.

Read more: 'Scared' residents count 'one driver every three minutes' on phone yards from fatal crash site

Ricky, also spoke to YouTube channel Birmz is Grime earlier this year. He said: "I graft on the lights. I've been stuck here for four years doing that to feed my drug habit.

"Before Covid, I was making £130-£140 [per day], piece of p***, but I was starting at 5.30am. The road was a hell of a lot busier and I'd be done by nine o'clock.

"I had a bloke who came through every day, I think he was a football manager, he was in a big expensive Range Rover, and he used to give me £20 every day - without fail. [Since Covid] everyone says to get a card reader. Everyone's scared to touch cash. You don't get half as much."

Earlier this year, we exclusively revealed how a homeless couple were living in a doomed bus stop near another major city route. They had raised concerns over the future of their temporary home before it was eventually demolished by Transport for West Midlands.

Birmingham was in the grip of a housing crisis earlier this year with more than 23,000 applicants waiting for a property - including nearly 5,000 households who were homeless and living in temporary accommodation.

On Ricky's plight and homelessness in the city, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson told us: "We're very sorry to hear this and strive to have a city in which every citizen has a safe and affordable home. The council ensures there are outreach workers on the streets of Birmingham day and night, seven days a week, with the offer of accommodation and support to all who need this.

"The services are provided by a strong partnership of city council and voluntary sector agencies. Anyone who is concerned about someone who may be sleeping rough can notify the outreach team via Streetlink and the team will follow up.”