‘CHEEKY’ HARRIET FOUND DEAD IN TENT

TRAGIC 27-YEAR-OLD DISCOVERED OFF CITY RING ROAD

The horror of a life living rough on the streets of Canterbury has claimed another young life.

Heroin addict and rough sleeper Harriet Kelly died in a tent near the Rheims Way at 10pm on Wednesday, August 24.

The 27-year-old – described as “intelligent and cheeky” – was a client of homeless charity Catching Lives in Station Road East, where staff were shaken by the latest death of a service user.

Trustee James Duff told the Kentish Gazette yesterday (Wednesday): “This is particularly tragic as she was so young.

“She’s been coming here for about 10 years and it’s always sad when someone you knows dies.

“Harriet was an intravenous drug user. She was just unable to break her cycle of drug use and rough sleeping.”

Police carried out a forensic examination but are not treating Miss Kelly’s death as suspicious and have passed their findings to the east Kent coroner.

They refused to answer any other questions about the incident. Miss Kelly had been pronounced dead at the scene.

She is believed to have grown up in Kent, but ended up on the streets around a decade ago.

She was the girlfriend of a homeless man called Tony Beaumont and was wellknown to other rough sleepers.

Mr Duff said she was well-liked by volunteers at Catching Lives. “We knew her well and everyone got on with her,” he said.

“She was intelligent and cheeky, but as a intravenous drug user she was always putting herself at risk with her lifestyle.

“As a service, we try and get our clients the help they need. Sadly, that didn’t happen in Harriet’s case.

“We have counsellors here and we can refer people to Turning Point, which helps people suffering from substance abuse.”

Mr Duff added that he did not think there had been a spike in the number of drug-related deaths in Canterbury in recent months.

“We are losing about one service user a month at the moment,” he said. “Sometimes you get a few together, but that isn’t always down to an overdose.

“It could be illness or it could be down to suicide in cases where someone is suffering from mental health issues.”

Log on to www.catchinglives.org for more information about the charity’s work.

Harriet Kelly, 27, died in a tent near the Rheims Way

Emergency crews were called to the scene of Harriet Kelly’s death