Double tragedy for mother as she finds son dead at shelter

The death of a homeless man in Canterbury marks a double tragedy for the mother he shared the city’s streets with.

Robert Wallis, 41, was discovered dead in a sleeping bag at the Catching Lives shelter, which had opened overnight because of the subzero temperatures around two weeks ago.

His mother, Eileen Wallis, was also staying at the centre, which the pair had used regularly in the last few months.

She has spoken of the horror of waking to find her son lifeless.

“I woke up and reached out for his hand but it felt really cold,” she said. “I realised he was dead but tried to revive him.

“I knew he was ill, but this came completely out of the blue and I am devastated. I have no idea what my future holds now.”

Robert was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 7am, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious.

The tragedy is the second to beset Mrs Wallis in recent years following the death of another son, Craig, who took his own life in 2012, aged 37.

Later the same year, Robert was left fighting for his life in a coma after he was brutally beaten in an assault which saw his attacker jailed for six years.

The family was living in a bungalow in Daytona Way, Studd Hill, at the time, but in the intervening years ended up sleeping rough on the streets.

The shelter was opened up as part of the city council’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (Swep), which funds extra beds when temperatures are forecast to drop below zero for three nights running.

The centre’s general manager, Terry Gore, said: “Over the last few years we had not seen much of Robert - apart from the last few months when he had been using the service with his mother - but he has a historic connection with Canterbury Open Centre.

“He was always considered a likeable, good-hearted man and was well thought of by all who worked with him.”