Former boxer and rough sleeper dies

A FORMER boxer who was sleeping rough in Birmingham city centre has been found dead outside the Wagamama restaurant near the Bullring.

The man, named by friends as Paul Williams, was said to have failed to wake up after bedding down.

Rob Yasai, a volunteer at Birmingham Homeless Outreach, told how he tried to save Mr Williams after checking on him out in the cold weather.

The rough sleeper had been with a fellow homeless man called Alan but had failed to wake up shortly before 9am on Sunday.

“I walked past to check on him because I knew the risks he was taking in the cold weather and I wanted to make sure he was OK,” said Mr Yasai.

“Alan thought he was sleeping but when I pulled the blankets away I found he had basically frozen to death.

“I said, ‘Paul, Paul, Paul’, but he wouldn’t wake up. I did everything I could but he didn’t respond. Only the night before I had told him to come to the unit because it was so cold.”

He said the victim had been a popular figure on the streets.

“Paul would do anything for anyone and he wanted to be out there with his friend,” said Mr Yasai.

“But even after it happened people were walking past him without blinking. He might have been homeless, but he’s still a human being.

“Paul was a caring, fun person. He cared about everyone and was worried about everyone else. He would put everyone before himself even though he was in the same situation. He died putting someone else first. He could have been in a shelter but he wanted to make sure Alan was safe.”