A homeless man has been found dead behind the shutters of an empty shop in Chelmsford following a night of sub-zero temperatures.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene around midday today after one of the coldest nights of the year.
Temperatures in Chelmsford dipped to a low of -1.7 degrees Celsius at 4am last night.
It is understood that the man had been living behind the shutters.
Andy Abbot, a prominent campaigner in the region, told Essex Live: t’s really shocking to hear that this has happened here in our city. How awful.
“I’m very sad but it’s obviously tinged with a certain degree of anger as well.
“This shouldn’t be happening in one of the richest countries in the world.
“It’s ridiculous in Chelmsford – a relatively wealthy city in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”
According to Brian McGovern of the Rucksack Project the local council had been warned about the dangers of the recent cold snap.
He said: “I did approach the council when we had a cold spell about opening up fire stations for them to sleep in.”
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