Van fire death: Victim had a job but no home
A MAN found dead in a burning vehicle had held down a full-time job despite living out of the back of his van, the M.E.N. can reveal.
Police and paramedics were called to burning vehicle in the car park of the Asda superstore in Reddish, Stockport, on March 4.
While there were no suspicious circumstances, the man’s identity and what he was doing in the van remained a mystery.
The M.E.N. can now reveal the blaze victim as David Alex Roseblade – a homeless man who had been living in the back of the vehicle for a number of months.
Despite the circumstances, Mr Roseblade held down a full-time job and was in the process of finding secure accommodation.
He was known to staff at The Wellspring charity in Stockport and had been accessing their services for around two weeks. They say Mr Roseblade was a ‘hardworking and pleasant man’ aged between 35 and 45 and from the Stockport area – who had sought help with trying to find housing.
Jonathan Billings, project manager at The Wellspring, was approached by the police to help identify Mr Roseblade’s vehicle shortly after his death.
“There’s a common misconception that all homeless people are rough sleepers or people who beg in the street,” he told the M.E.N.
“But a lot of homeless people are in full-time employment and sleeping in cars. It then becomes very difficult for people to attend appointments with housing officers in the day to resolve the situation. They can’t attend appointments in the day because they’re at work. And many people don’t want their employers to know they don’t have a home.
“David’s death is particularly tragic because he was a hardworking, very pleasant man who had the rest of his life ahead of him.”
Mr Roseblade’s van had been parked on the Asda car park since 4pm on the Friday before his death.
Fire investigators are still probing the tragedy, with one line of enquiry that smoking materials may have been to blame.
His death has been passed to the coroner.
Mr Roseblade’s family told the M.E.N. they did not wish to comment at this time.