He has been camped outside city hall for the past 12 days
An army veteran who has camped outside City Hall for the past 12 days is marching to London, where he says he will demand to speak with Prime Minister Theresa May.
Tom Foley, a 36-year-old man from Doncaster, set up camp outside the City of Lincoln Council offices on Monday, February 25.
He claims the council is not doing enough to find him and his three children a suitable home after rejecting their bedsit offer in Gainsborough.
Mr Foley was a port operator and driver in Royal Logistics Corps for five years after joining at 16.
After leaving the army, he joined the construction trade at 21-years-old, working as a contractor. He travelled across the country for work.
But spinal stenosis, a condition which leaves him with fractures and tears in his spine, left him unable to continue work and without a home.
He has been homeless for just over a year and moved to Lincoln in the hope of studying at university and to write books.
He thinks Britain is broken. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite
Tom Foley will set off today on a 150 mile journey to see the Prime Minister. His experiences with housing troubles, the NHS and local councils have left him with the option “the system is broken for the poor”.
He wants to deliver this message to “the person at the top”.
He told The Lincolnite: “I’ve been here for 12 days and [the council] gave me the final letter yesterday.
“It said that a bedsit was adequate for me. So now I can either take a bedsit and say goodbye to my children or live in my tent and say goodbye anyway.
“So I am going to march down to 10 Downing Street and stop off at towns and cities on the way. I want to see Theresa May.
“With nothing left to do and nowhere to be, it might take me a month to walk there but if that’s the case then that’s the case.”
Mr Foley set off from the City of Lincoln Council offices at 2pm and aims to be in Newark later today for the first leg of his journey.
Tom Foley, 36, who has pitched his tent up outside city hall. Photo: Calvin Robinson for The Lincolnite
A spokesperson for the City of Lincoln Council told The Lincolnite: “We have considered Mr Foley’s letter of appeal and reviewed his homelessness application.
“We are satisfied that our offer of bedsit accommodation is suitable and appropriate but Mr Foley has made it clear that he is unwilling to take such a property.
“Mr Foley does not have a local connection to Lincoln and, therefore, we are unable to offer him a council property.
“We have offered to assist him with a deposit on a privately rented property and to refer him to the authority where is does have a local connection. He declined both offers.
“Unfortunately, Mr Foley’s attitude towards our staff has become increasingly threatening as we are not in a position to assist him further.
“If he wishes to take up our offer of a bedsit or our deposit assistance, subject to a private rented property being available, we are happy to assist.”
Whatsapp
