A MAN sleeping rough on the streets of Musselburgh has praised the kindness of local people who have rallied to help him.

Darren Wilkes, 35, originally from Middlesbrough, has been living in a shop doorway on High Street since he arrived in the Honest Toun from Edinburgh about three weeks ago.

He told the Courier that he was forced to leave the council flat he was staying in after he became the victim of a racist attack which left him hospitalised, adding: “I was fearing for my own safety.”

Well-wishers, who have spotted him in the entrance to the empty Store Twenty One premises come rain or shine, have given him food, bottles of water, hot drinks, clothes and donations of money after a Facebook campaign to support him gathered momentum.

Lesley-Anne Rumble, a 31-year-old Musselburgh resident who works in recruitment, has co-ordinated the kindess and is also helping Darren in a bid to access accommodation after approaching Shelter Scotland and East Lothian Council.

She scoured charity shops for donations of clothing so she could wash his clothes, with the Salvation Army donating a jacket in his size.

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She said: “The reason the community is supporting him is that we care and won’t let something like this happen on our doorstep. I’ve stepped in purely because enough is enough. He clearly needs help and my instincts always tell me to reach out and do what I can for people. Action was needed so I simply did what I thought he needed.”

Tranent resident Stephanie Mackinnon, 25, is also backing the campaign to get Darren accommodation after seeing him from a bus as she travelled through Musselburgh.

She said: “Everyone is supporting each other to make sure he gets what he needs when he needs it and sorting out when to take him food.

“I was in a bus when I passed the shop and was quite shocked that someone was living on the streets in Musselburgh.”

Darren told the Courier: “I have been living on the streets since I was a kid. I got kicked out into care when my dad died. My family abandoned me completely.

“I haven’t had a very good life whatsoever and no one seemed to care.

“Basically I was supposed to be living in the care system and I was terrified, so I ran out on to the streets.

“I have travelled the entire length of the country and people just look down their nose at homeless people – it’s a problem and no one seems to want to deal with it.

“I’m tired of it, it makes me really exhausted. I was in London living rough at the age of 11.”

But Darren has been overwhelmed by the help and support he has received from the Musselburgh community.

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He said: “The people in Musselburgh are nice, I have never known anything like it in my life. They are just looking after me basically. I was even taken to someone’s house and they allowed me to use the shower.”

He added: “I would rather stay here and live in this doorway than go back to Edinburgh and be victimised by a bunch of racist people.

“I was quite disgusted by it. I have lived here 17 years and I have never known anything like that in my life. It was horrible.

“I don’t want to leave Musselburgh and I would like to actually live here to be honest.

“This place tries its best for people.

“I have never known anything like it – I was amazed. It is like they looked at me and thought: ‘You shouldn’t be homeless.’”

Darren said he was “not used” to people being nice, adding: “The only treatment I have ever received is being kicked in the face and called a tramp.

“All homeless people are branded as drug addicts and it’s horrible.”

A council spokesperson said: “When someone approaches the council for help, the council has a legal obligation to carry out a homeless assessment.

“In general terms, this seeks to establish if the person concerned is homeless or threatened with homelessness; if they are unintentionally homeless; or if they have a local connection with the council that they have approached.

“The council has a responsibility to secure accommodation for the person concerned if they meet all three criteria.

“The council is unable to comment on individual cases. We would encourage individuals threatened with homelessness to engage with the council through our housing access team on 01620 827536 or make contact with one of the council’s local housing offices.”