Trio of builders halt their Christmas bash to help a frail homeless woman, 71, and pay £145 for her to stay the night in a hotel

  • Builders out on their Christmas do found vulnerable homeless woman on street
  • The 71-year-old woman was struggling to shelter from the cold in Bristol
  • Kind-hearted men picked up her belongings and paid for her to stay in hotel 
  • Damning report released today found homelessness in England is 'in crisis'

By Keiligh Baker for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A group of kind-hearted builders enjoying their work Christmas party halted the celebrations to pay for a 71-year-old homeless woman to stay in a hotel.

Roger Hartigan, 43, and his colleagues Joe Rich and David Harrison were out in the centre of Bristol for their work Christmas party when they met the elderly woman.

They stopped to speak to the woman, who was trying to shelter from the cold with all of her belongings in plastic carrier bags.

Roger Hartigan, 43, (pictured) and his colleagues were out in the centre of Bristol for their work Christmas party when they met the elderly woman and paid for her to stay n a hotel

Roger Hartigan, 43, (pictured) and his colleagues were out in the centre of Bristol for their work Christmas party when they met the elderly woman and paid for her to stay n a hotel

The men tried to hail a taxi to take her to a hotel but none would stop, so they split up and asked around local hotels to try and find a spare room.

Mr Hartigan said: 'I saw this woman and she looked very fragile. She said she was 71 and had nowhere to go.

'We gave her some money and some cigarettes and we tried to hire her a taxi to take her to a hotel but none would stop.

'So some of the guys ran ahead to find a hotel with a spare room and I walked with her through the centre of town, carrying her stuff.

The men tried to hail a taxi to take the homeless woman to a hotel but none would stop, so they split up and asked around local hotels to try and find a spare room

'Then one of the lads called to say they'd found a room in a hotel opposite the Hippodrome. We walked her there and checked her in.'

The hotel the woman was checked into is believed to be the Radisson Blu in Broad Quay, overlooking Harbourside.

She told the friends that she had been living on the streets of Bristol for 18 years.

Mr Hartigan added: 'She was just so vulnerable - there was no way I could leave her.

'I think she was a bit shocked at what was happening when I said we'd find her a hotel, but I reassured her we weren't taking the mick.

The hotel the woman (pictured on the streets) was checked into is believed to the Radisson Blu in Broad Quay, overlooking Harbourside

The hotel the woman (pictured on the streets) was checked into is believed to the Radisson Blu in Broad Quay, overlooking Harbourside

'We just wanted to make sure she was safe. We were out on our Christmas do but once we saw her she became our priority.' 

It emerged today that homelessness in England is a 'national crisis' and the Government's approach to tackling the problem has been an 'abject failure', according to a damning report.

More than 9,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets and over 78,000 households, including 120,000 children, are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, often of a poor standard, said the Public Accounts Committee.

Its report said the Department for Communities and Local Government's attitude to reducing homelessness has been 'unacceptably complacent', with limited action that has lacked urgency.

The Government's commitment to eliminate rough sleeping by 2027 will only address the 'tip of the iceberg', said the MPs, adding that there was an 'unacceptable shortage' of realistic housing options for the homeless or those at risk of homelessness.

The homelessness crisis has been growing for years, with the number of people sleeping rough increasing by 134% since 2011, while there has been a 60% rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation since 2010, said the report. 

 

Builders halt Christmas party to help homeless woman

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