Homeless Man ‘Frozen To Death’

Nottinghamshire Police said officers were called out to the scene in Beeston to reports of a man’s sudden death, before firefighters cut the frozen body from the car – where a homeless man had reportedly been living, reports the Mirror.

The UK cold snap has claimed its first death as a homeless man reportedly froze to death in a snow-covered car in temperatures as low as -10C. It comes as Britain’s snow misery is set to continue after the Met Office this morning extended snow and ice warnings into next week across much of Scotland, as well as northern England and the Midlands. Firefighters had to be called out to cut the unnamed man’s body free. Police officers were captured on video, which was circulated on X, gathered around a black car in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. An ambulance was also parked at the scene.

Nottinghamshire Police said they were called following reports of a man’s sudden death. They cordoned off the scene on Dallas York Road at 10am on Friday morning and remained there until the evening. It’s understood the man had been living in his car. Residents in the street described the incident as ‘awful’ and spoke of their shock at the discovery. Dan Hands, who lives on the street, said: “It’s horrible, it could be anyone’s kid, I’ve got two myself.”

The 33-year-old, who moved into the area 14 years ago, told Nottinghamshire Live: “I don’t know how old he was but it’s horrible, and just before Christmas.”

Linda Morton and Heidi Bolger, who were both waiting for a bus near the scene of the police cordon, described the death as “awful”. Ms Morton, 68, who works nearby, added: “I knew something was going off as police cars and fire engines turned up on the street, but I don’t know much more than that. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this.” After confirmation that the incident was a sudden death, Andy Townsend, who works at KAM Servicing across the road, said: “It’s very sad, especially at this time of year. We saw the police here from around 8am.”

In a statement, Detective Inspector Claire Gould described the incident as ‘tragic’ but said it was not being treated as suspicious. She said: “Police were called to Dallas York Road, Beeston, at around 10am (1 December) following reports of a man’s sudden death. Our thoughts are with this man’s family and friends at this difficult time.” One resident said: “People tried to get help for the poor guy in the past. What an awful and tragic waste of a life. What is society coming to when a homeless person can freeze to death on a street in Britain?”

It comes as the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions – the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber – until December 5, meaning “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”. A snow and ice warning is in place from 5pm today until 12pm on Monday across Scotland, while a separate ice warning is in place over the same period across much of northern England and the Midlands. The first states: “Wintry showers, with snow on hills, falling onto frozen surfaces may lead to some disruption to transport and infrastructure”, while the other adds: “Icy patches are likely to develop this evening and overnight leading to difficult travel conditions.”