Tragedy of man killed in bin horror

Exclusive by John Scheerhout and Neal Keeling

November 27, 2009

| Submit Comments | Comments (35) | Previous | Next

Stefan Tomkins as a youngster

A HOMELESS man crushed to death in the back of a bin lorry was a former university student whose promising life was destroyed by drink and drugs.

Stefan Tomkins, 31, was killed after he fell asleep in an industrial refuse container as he sheltered from the rain. He was unable to escape when the bin was emptied into the back of a truck containing a powerful crusher.

It is understood Stefan was suffocated as the rubbish was packed around him. The truck collected waste from up to 70 sites around Stockport.

Grieving

Parents' anguish over loss of promising son

A worker at a tip in Ardwick, Manchester noticed a leg sticking out of a digger's bucket just before it was about to be dumped on another truck bound for a landfill site.

Today, his grieving parents told how their 'beautiful boy' had been destroyed by drink and drugs and, backed by police and a charity for the homeless, warned vagrants of the perils of sleeping in bins.

Stefan's family said: "It's a very, very sad waste of a young life. We never stopped believing in him. We always believed he would change."

No-one knows which of the bins at industrial and commercial sites around Stockport Stefan had crawled into, although police suspect he probably climbed in during Tuesday night as the rain lashed down. He was said to have also lived in the Chorlton area.

Tragic

Tez Clegg, an outreach worker with Lifeshare, a Manchester-based charity for the homeless, said: "It is absolutely tragic that this could happen in this day and age. It is desperately sad that someone should have to sleep in a bin to get shelter.

"But sometimes people who are homeless can find it hard to get accommodation in a hostel. If they have a criminal record, some places will not accept them.

"But many of the homeless don't sleep on the streets of the city centre - it is too dangerous. Homeless people are often a target for violence.

"We supported a 16-year-old boy who had been sleeping in a bin. He was dragged from the bin and raped."

Lifeshare is based in Holdsworth Street, Manchester, off Oldham Street. and can be contacted on 0161 235 0744.

Parents' anguish over loss of promising son

Pictures

View Gallery (2)

| Submit Comments | Comments (35) | Previous | Next

Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

Of Denton, Tameside (27/11/2009 at 11:00)

"We supported a 16-year-old boy who had been sleeping in a bin. He was dragged from the bin and raped."

I for one was shocked to read this. MP's whom fiddled their expenses claiming for homes they did not have or for homes for their ducks should feel deeply ashamed!

I for one will not complain about my lot in life again and pose the question how do we work together to stop this from happening to anybody else?

Tramtraveller, Bury (27/11/2009 at 11:23)

Surely there must be a way of locking these bins up at night.

TruBlu132 (27/11/2009 at 11:39)

With all the disused buildings in the city, surely, for little money, these can be set up to at least give shelter to the homeless? Ok, there may not be the luxuries of heating, electricity etc in most cases, but at least a shelter from the rain, would stop the need for these poor people to have to hide in bins and be unsafe in the open streets of Manchester.

Local councils and govt need to act and get this sorted. We are not talking about much cost at all. As long as the building is safe and maybe donations of sleeping bags, duvets, pillows etc are supplied, then at leats these people can have a roof over their heads and out of site from the idiots who feel violence and sexual abuse is required!!

Steve Elliott (27/11/2009 at 12:17)

This is an absolute tragedy it just goes to show though how you can have ur whole future in front of you and you make some bad decisions in terms of drugs and u can lose everything, tragic i feel for the family and friends he has left behind... TRAGIG

Perth Oz Blue (27/11/2009 at 12:35)

what a sad sad end to this poor man's life. Rest in Peace Stefan.

schgittor (27/11/2009 at 12:39)

Terrible, terrible story.

Red or Dead, Manchester (27/11/2009 at 12:40)

Beyond tragic, we seem to have money to help those who have no affinity with the UK or merely come here to abuse the lax benefit system yet a young promising man like this one had to seek refuge in a bin. I second the comment re our vile mp's and their complete greed and lack of ability to help those who really need it. His poor parents must be devastated, a very disturbing story.

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (27/11/2009 at 12:44)

Tragic story.

Dave Fogg (27/11/2009 at 12:57)

Unfortunately there is not a need to turn derelict buildings into shelters for the homeless as there are only 7 rough sleepers in Manchester. RIDICULOUS government statistics. These buildings have and are turned into plush apartments for middle class people to live. So the government wont fund new shelter in fact the single homeless mens accommodation with 33 beds is actually closing down and homeless people have to present at the Town Hall where they are treated appallingly. If they're lucky enough to have two forms of ID and a benefit claim they will get assessed. If they are fit and healthy then they will be told there is nothing that can be done for them and advised to look at private rented accommodation. This is where the cycle of homelessness starts private landlords need references and a deposit, then the nightmare of trying to claim housing benefit. So this is why poor people end up seeking shelter in bins. I really hope this tragedy may change things but unfortunately I doubt it.

Justified True Belief , - ... (27/11/2009 at 13:02)

I guess we all share some blame here (myself included) what are each of us doing to help people like this. IMHO comments like “Surely there must be a way of locking these bins up at night” are so far off the mark I despair.

Very sad story. Condolences to the family and friends of this young man.

Brock, Hulme (27/11/2009 at 13:03)

The police are so heartless its beyond belief, if you are homeless found asleep at 2 am on a raining sunday morning thay will give you a few pointless self help leaflets and move you on, much good that will do at that time of day! Thats why these poor messed up people often sleep in bins, thay have no choice, there are only a certain amount of hostel beds in manchester and thay go very quickly and some times there is no where to go but the streets. The police need to get real and stop thinking there tough hard line, on people already bowed down by mental illness or drugs is doing anything but harm to there already tarnished reputatation.

Englisc Stannes, North Manchester (27/11/2009 at 13:04)

A sad tale of how life can be destroyed from a promising career from university to drug usage and drink. Then to become a wastrel. If anything that should be encourage, the use of a drop in centre for recovery, should be paramount on this council list this coming month.

BDZ, UK (27/11/2009 at 13:32)

Brock - a man gets killed tragically after sleeping in a bin, so the police advise people not to sleep in bins, how exactly are the police being harsh? It's not their fault there are not enough homeless shelters in the city.

Dave Fogg (27/11/2009 at 13:40)

The Police do what they're told if they are told to move on and arrest they move on and arrest, ASBO's are issued and fines are given. Which results in more crime and even more vulnerable people posibly having to resort to prostitution to raise money to survive street homelessness. What a shame the MP's aren't forced to hand back all the money they have ripped off the tax payers and it could be used to help people who need a room to get their lives back on track instead of second homes that aren't being used for educated fools to meet their lovers. Councils meet regularly with voluntary underfunded agencies who provide their statistics etc to these multi agency groups then the Chair of the group will say thanks write a meaningless strategy and look forward to their £35,000 pa salaries and sleep tight in their warm beds at night.

fi barnes (27/11/2009 at 13:49)

Brock,
I wonder where your experiece of such police approach comes from? As a police officer myself I have on numeros occassions had to locate emergency shelter for homeless people in the early hours. Rest assured we don't carry leaflets.

But I think that you've detracted from the point to this tragic story. Its not about placing responsibility/blame on the one person/organisation its aout highlighting the horrific truth about the levels of homeless people out there and the circumstances that lead to that.

Brock, Hulme (27/11/2009 at 13:55)

BDZ, where are these people meant to sleep? The police constantly move them off the streets so the homeless end up sleeping in bins so thay are not spotted and can get some rest, and the police nowadays are trying so hard to be seen as community minded and helpful to the general public its a PR stunt, that the homeless make a easy and visable target to help improve there dreadful image. Let charities and the council deal with the homeless and the police should try fighting real crime for a change.

Brock, Hulme (27/11/2009 at 14:19)

Fi barns, I have been homeless myself, most long term homeless people know exactly where all the hostels are in the manchester area, thay also know that its not always possible to get into them for one reason or another, thay in the main part also know how the whole system works and if thay need help thay know exactly were to go, some of the police im sure think thay are doing good but the problem is people dont trust them and think that although the police want to be seen as being helpful to the homeless community, but more sceptical people realise that thay are far more concerned about keeping the city centre clear for the tourists and the shoppers, the homeless dont fit in with the trendy image of manchester, and are forced to sleep in more risky places becouse of this.

Marquis de Sade et la petit monge tout (27/11/2009 at 14:57)

So many things lead to homelessness. I had a friend from a wealthy family who decided not to follow in the family business and became a teacher. He was an absolutely great teacher and shunned the wealth of his family because he sincerely cared about doing good. We used to have conversations about 'God' and the 'meaning of life' and always ended up agreeing that we felt there was a reason for doing good, but perhaps not a Godly one. However, his intensity of caring led him to drink when people upset him or when he felt that he wasn't making an impact. Some years ago, he was convicted of drink driving twice in a short period of time(I'm not justifying it). He had split up with his wife and was being bullied at work by an terrible line manager, hiding her own incompetence. He lost his job and ended up climbing over the railings of parks to sleep in a tent. I used to give him food and money. After months of living like this he began to try drugs, because they made him forget. I used to see him sitting in the park reading and talking to imaginery kids in an imaginery classroom. People passing him would have thought that he was insane and perhaps he was. However, they often did not have first class degree from Cambridge in a 'proper subject' like he did and had not turned their back on an easy life as a millionaire because of a desire to do good. My friend disappeared three years ago and I heard a rumour that he is dead. The point is, his dreams were shattered and when that happens life can often turn into a tragic spiral. Trust me, if it could happen to him it could happen to anybody.

£700m and rising......, Sale (27/11/2009 at 15:01)

As a landlord of a hostel, we don't ask for references or a deposit and accept that ID comes in short supply for homeless people. The Town Hall is a shambles and used to copy and validate ID for homeless people only to be told by another area of the council to stop doing it! Landlords need ID so they can claim Housing Benefit to pay rent.
The sad fact is some homeless people flirt from one hostel to another because their drink or drugs come first. There are beds out there, we have had free beds for weeks.

fande koi (27/11/2009 at 15:30)

I wonder if all the people condemming the people who have moved into the empty pub still agree with them being chucked out after reading this story?

So sad.

Proper Sentences (27/11/2009 at 15:42)

Marquis De Sade at 14.57 today, I totally agree with your comments, anyone can become homeless and dreams can be shattered. Life in 2009 is a lot sadder than it use to be as everyone is drowning in greed and dont appear to care about the vulnerable often phrasing the term its their own fault , its not its society's fault and we are all part of scoiety

Joe Pub, Manchester (27/11/2009 at 16:11)

There is about 1 million vacant properties in Manchester, so why don't the council make these landlords refurnish these properties then there is no excuse for people to be homeless.
It is a tragic story.

Al Capone of Atherton, Atherton (27/11/2009 at 16:36)

This shows what happens what probably started with a sociable drink and smoke at uni (to be one of the lads) spirals out of control. This could be anybody's son. A lovely lad and a terrible waste of life. All through a poison called alcohol. The boy takes a drink, then the drink takes the man. I wish the MEN would start a fund in his name to help the local homeless. I for one would give gladly as, I am sure, would a lot of the contributors on here. RIP son.

CorneredAllTheLuck, Tameside (27/11/2009 at 17:39)

This society makes me sick, one lot with everything another with nothing, they kick you into the gutter and blame you for being there and of course they do not want competition for their privileges.

peter-pie-eater, Wigan (27/11/2009 at 17:46)

Marquis de Sade et la petit monge tout,
i'm not judging you but no friend of mine would be climbing over park fences to sleep in tent's they would be sleeping in my home maybe that what your friend needed not money or food but a warm place to stay and a shoulder to lean and cry on, a very sad tale none the less

()

Report

NatWest Platinum	16.9%
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum	16.9%
Virgin Credit Card	16.6%
Egg Card	17.9%
MBNA Platinum	16.9%
MBNA Platinum Rewards Card	16.9%
Barclaycard Gold	19.9%
BT Credit Card	16.9%
Halifax All In One	15.9%

Platinum Exclusive	7.7%
Alliance & Leicester	7.8%
Sainsbury's Personal Loan	7.8%
Santander	7.9%
Blackhorse Personal Finance	8.5%

News