A ROUGH sleeper said people could lose their lives on the streets due to emergency protocols not being strict enough.


Neil Hannover, aged 53, claims up to a dozen homeless people have no other option but to set up their sleeping bags and duvets on the city's streets.


Workers from Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) are called out when temperatures plummet to 0 degrees C or below and offer accommodation for the night. 

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But Mr Hannover said he and other rough sleepers feel the benchmark for action to be taken should be raised from 0C to 4C. 

He said: "The threshold should be higher, it should be if the temperature is 4C or below. 

"SWEP is not being called and it should be, that is the gripe we have. 

"Other people have been sleeping with two or three duvets during the night because it is freezing.

"I have a sleeping bag and it's a summer one, it cost about £18/£20 and it is a bit thinner, but I can't afford to get a new one.

"It makes me angry and frustrated. It's easy to lose your positivity, but I see something at the end of the rainbow." 

READ MORE: Worcester City Council vows to support rough sleepers over Christmas

He said homeless charity Caring for Communities and People (CCP) and homeless shelter Maggs Day Centre will not call SWEP unless temperatures reach 0C or below in order to stay within guidelines given by the Met Office.

READ MORE: Number of people sleeping rough in England rises for first time since 2017

Mr Hannover, has been sleeping rough since November and said: "It is bloody freezing. 
"When it was -3C you cannot sleep, it was too cold. 

Worcester News: Neil Hannover said rough sleepers could lose their lives due to freezing temperatures Neil Hannover said rough sleepers could lose their lives due to freezing temperatures (Image: NQ)

READ MORE: Rough sleeping in Worcester is on the rise

"People lose their lives when they sleep on the streets that's the reason SWEP is called because the streets are not fit for people to sleep but the temperature threshold definitely should be higher.
"People could die."
Mr Hannover lived in France for six years, but his life took a drastic turn when he was made homeless when he arrived back in the UK. 

Worcester News: Image shows rough sleeper Image shows rough sleeper (Image: PA)

He ended up in Worcester in pursuit of his mother, who used to live in Bromsgrove, but he was left homeless when he realised she no longer lived at that address and he didn't have the money or resources to find her. 
"I went to find my mother, but when I got to her address, the man said they had been living there for a year. 
"I didn't have the money for my own place, which is how I ended up on the streets."


A spokesperson from Worcester City Council said: "The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) is activated when the temperature is forecast to be 0 degrees C for one night or more and sees night shelters being opened around the county.


"Outreach teams contact rough sleepers and encourage them to make use of the shelters.


"Since November 1 last year, SWEP has been open for 32 nights.
"During that time 38 people have been supported. Of those people, only four are known to still be sleeping rough, and work is continuing to find options for them."


The council said there are a wide range of services available when SWEP is not in operation. 


The spokesperson added: "The city council has recently adopted a new Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy that aims to end homelessness and rough sleeping and, where it has not been possible to prevent it from occurring, to ensure that it is rare, brief and does not re-occur."