A film-maker who is believed to have frozen to death creating a documentary about sleeping rough has drawn tribute from Manchester’s homeless and campaigners.
Lee Halpin, from Newcastle, was found dead in a boarded-up hostel in the city after dedicating this week to see what life was like as a homeless person.
It is believed the 27-year-old may have succumbed to hypothermia, with temperatures in Newcastle dropping to as low as -4.2C early on Wednesday, when he was found.
Lee’s last tweet, sent from the account of Novel Magazine, a North East arts and culture publication of which he was also a founding editor, said: “I’d really appreciate it if someone would loan me a sleeping bag.”
Mike Staniforth, maker of acclaimed documentary Shelter: A Look at Manchester’s Homeless, spent time with homeless people in the city, many sleeping in situations similar to Lee’s.
“It’s terrible news,” he said. “It’s a bizarre situation. I can understand him wanting to go out and experience what homeless people are experiencing but it’s just tragic.”
In the film, Mike visits the ‘home’ of a man called Lucas, who was staying in an abandoned factory in Cheetham Hill, similar to the type of empty building where Lee was found.
He said: “That was last summer and it was cold back then.”
The Shelter documentary looks at homeless people in Manchester, as the city has many sleeping rough, often for prolonged periods.
With the temperature dropping, and seemingly being the main factor in the tragic passing of Lee, MM spoke to Alan Dent, who spends his days playing music on Manchester’s Market Street, but fortunately sleeps in a Gorton bed and breakfast.
“I think unfortunately he may have taken it a bit far to the extreme,” the 69-year-old said. “I wear three pairs of trousers and two coats 24/7 just to stay warm as the heating doesn’t work.”
Lee was striving to draw attention to the plight of homeless people in Newcastle’s West End, and was known as a strong figure on the city’s culture scene.
Natasha Carter, a 23-year-old journalist from Manchester and former MM reporter, spent a night sleeping rough to raise money for charity and understands the problems he will have faced.
She said: “I did it once and I don’t think I could ever do it again so he must have been very determined.
“He obviously died doing something he believed in and that’s really sad.”
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
