Homeless man dies in Burger King doorway days after making tragic comment

10 December 2023 , 23:04

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Richard O'Brien, 56, a man sleeping rough on the streets of Cardiff, has tragically passed away (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)

Flowers and handwritten tributes have been to a homeless man who died while sleeping rough outside a Burger King on the freezing streets.

Richard O'Brien, 56, was found dead just days after he hit back at comments made by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who claimed that homelessness was a "lifestyle choice".

Richard said he would choose from three places to sleep when night falls, using cardboard, blankets and a sleeping bag to keep himself sheltered from the icy cold conditions. He would often stay in the entrance of Burger King, which was where he was found dead on November 27.

Gary Mason, one of Richard's friends, told the BBC he raised the alarm when Richard became unwell. He said: "He woke me up and said 'Ga, I can't move'. He was in the doorway of Burger King with a skinny sheet over him and he didn't look well. I tried to warm him up, I thought he'd bounce back but he didn't."

Tributes and flowers at the place where Richard slept in the city centre (WalesOnline/ Rob Browne)

South Wales Police confirmed a man had died after an ambulance was called to Queen Street in Cardiff during the early hours of November 27. They said that there were "no suspicious circumstances" and inquiries were being made to trace next of kin.

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Touchingly, his friends have posted tributes on an electricity box close to the Burger King where he died. They have written messages to Paddy, the nickname Richard was given because of his Irish roots, and have left floral tributes near the scene. A friend said: "He was a funny little thing, he used to make you giggle, he was a nice person, a really nice man."

Richard told Wales Online he had been homeless "on and off" for 30 years and had never used a tent. He said: "I wouldn’t sleep in a tent even if you gave me one...It’s dangerous for starters - anyone could come and take a match or a lighter while you’re in it. It’s happened before - not to me, but I know others it has on two occasions."

Some of the tributes left at the site (WalesOnline/ Rob Browne)

Before he was homeless, Richard was married with four kids and living in Bristol. "But things turned for the worse and the truth is, I’m more to blame than anything, because I was in and out of jail, and she [my ex-wife] couldn’t hack it, so she went with the next man. So that was it - it was game over," he recalled.

He was first homeless on the streets of Bristol, and then London. “I stayed in London for 12 years - homeless on the streets of London. Again, it’s part of my life,” he said.

After London, he moved to Cardiff, where he had been living for around the last 16 years. Over the decades he had stayed in hostels "here and there in between…four weeks here, two weeks there". The last time he was in one was four months ago.

On the comments from former Home Secretary Suella Braverman that rough sleeping was a "lifestyle choice", he said: "I wouldn’t agree with that. I’m not saying people don’t have places - some people do, and whether they want to choose to be on the pavement, that’s up to them. But the fact is, there are people out here who haven’t got anywhere - and can’t get anywhere, so they have no choice, they have to be on this pavement."

Cathy Owen