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Home Must Reads

Council chiefs who fined homeless man for reading a book offer him street cleaning job

Gary Cannop, 55, was stunned when he was slapped wiith a £60 penalty after being accused of begging

Nathan Pynn by Nathan Pynn
2019-07-18 16:07
in Must Reads
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Council chiefs who fined a homeless man for READING a book on the street have offered him a job following a social media backlash.

Gary Cannop, 55, was handed a £60 fixed penalty after a female council officer wrongly accused him of begging.

Scottish-born Gary, who has been living rough for 16 months after losing his civil engineering job, told friends who then launched a social media campaign.

Following the backlash, Coventry City Council have scrapped the fine and even offered Gary a four-week work trial as a street cleaner.

Gary, who has a 1st class Civil Engineering degree, said: “I’m so humbled by the support
I’ve received from people.

credit;SWNS

“Since I have found myself on the streets, the people of Coventry have bene good to me and all I’ve ever wanted is to repay them.

“If I can clean their city then that would be wonderful and I’m delighted to have the chance of getting myself back on my feet.”

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Gary, who doesn’t drink or take drugs, lost his home and his job two years ago following an operation to remove a blood clot.

He said: “I’ve been a labourer all my life before going to university as a mature student and studying for a degree in Civil Engineering.

“Two years ago I had an operation on my leg to remove a massive blood clot and then was on my back for two months so I couldn’t work and lost my job as a drainage worker.

“I spent £2,000 in savings over that two-month period of food, bills and rent.

credit;SWNS

“When that ran out I couldn’t pay the rent and got evicted from my flat in Birmingham where I lived alone.

“I’ve been on the streets for 16 months. I was born in Glasgow and I don’t have any family so I’m literally on my own.”

Gary sleeps in a makeshift shelter constructed out of wood and tarpaulin in an alleyway off Smithford Way, in Coventry.

He sweeps the alley twice a day and says he never begs or asks for handouts.

But his plight went viral when a council officer slapped him with a fine on July 9 and a Public Space Protection Order.

Gary said: “I was sitting on the ground reading a book. It was Tribe by Sebastian Junger.

“Obviously he thought I was begging but I was just reading.

“I’ve never begged and never will.

“She turned around and said, ‘I’ve giving you a £60 fixed penalty for begging.’

“I said, ‘I beg your pardon, I’m not begging.’

“She then said, ‘You’re sitting in the begging position.’

“I was actually sitting reading a book.”

The council defended the officers, saying she was “doing her job” but have agreed to cancel the fine.

They have also offered Gary a four-week work trial as a street cleaner with a view of taking him on full-time and offering him a permanent home.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/homeless-deaths-highest-in-areas-with-biggest-council-budget-cuts/25/06/
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