A 48-year-old man has described his 11 years of rough sleeping which has included living on a disused rubbish tip, in a pig sty and then in tiny cave in a rocky outcrop.
That was when his outdoor life began again, living off food thrown away by supermarkets
Pete Davison has listed disused toilets, skips and road bridges as some of the other places he has called home in the Halifax area of West Yorkshire, UK.
For three years he lived in a make-shift den at Shroggs Tip, in the town.
For another three years he slept in apig sty in Hebden Bridge, until it was fire bombed.
And his last rough residence was a hole among rocks at Wainhouse Terrace – the derelict site of an ornate Victorian building.
Bearded Mr Davison is featured in a new exhibition of images at Halifax’s Dean Clough Gallery by photographer Claire Wood.
But after more than a decade of sleeping in horrendous and bizarre locations, he has now found a place at a Christian community house with his brother, Joe.
However, adjusting to life under a proper roof has not been free of difficulties for him.
“Bright lights hurt my eyes and the television gives me headaches,” he said.
“The heating makes my skin itch and I get too hot.”
Things happen in people’s lives and they find themselves out there. Circumstances put people in these situations. Things which can happen in everyone’s life
Mr Davison added: “I used to wake up when the first birds started singing and then walk all day until it got dark again.”
He and his brother had a difficult childhood when they were taken into care and also suffered abuse.
By the age of 17 he was sleeping rough. Then, after a failed relationship in his 20s he lived for 17 years in a house with no gas, water or electricity until it was demolished. That was when his outdoor life began again, living off food thrown away by supermarkets.
Photographer Ms Wood said: “It’s quite incredible where people like Pete find to sleep. They’re hidden away. You’d never discover them.
“But Pete’s story is not that unusual, unfortunately.”
Taking photographs of the homeless in the Halifax area gave Ms Wood a real insight into how rough sleepers lived.
“I think the real message is that ‘it could be us’,” she said.
“Things happen in people’s lives and they find themselves out there. Circumstances put people in these situations. Things which can happen in everyone’s life.”
But Ms Wood said she was also impressed by the efforts in the Halifax area which are being made to help people who find themselves homeless, especially from charitable organisations.
• Homeless in Halifax runs at Dean Clough Gallery until May 6.