Teenager found after ‘Orwellian adventure’
HIS HEAD full of George Orwell’s time living as a vagrant, 15-year-old Arthur Heeler-Frood decided to follow in the writer’s footsteps.
Shortly after reading Orwell’s seminal 1933 work Down and Out in Paris and London on his Kindle, the teenager disappeared from home, leaving behind a note saying: “I have run away because I am bored of my life.”
Ten weeks later the schoolboy has returned home safe, revealing that he spent his time sleeping rough while exploring England’s three largest cities.
After more than two months of silence, Arthur was spotted on a train from Exeter to Honiton on Tuesday. Yesterday morning Arthur disclosed: “I have spent the last 10 weeks exploring London, Birmingham and Manchester by foot, sleeping rough at night.
“I am very grateful to everyone who has helped my family in trying to ensure my safe return.
“I apologise to the police for the time they spent looking for me and for the worry I have caused family and friends.” Arthur’s relieved parents said in a statement: “We are overjoyed to have Arthur home with us again; tired, grubby and rather smelly, but otherwise none the worse for his experiences. We feel extremely lucky that he is safe and sound.”
In a note found after he went missing on Sept 6, Arthur had asked his parents not to look for him.
He wrote: “To Mum and Dad, I have run away because I am bored of my life. Please don’t try to find me or make me come home. I don’t know how long I will be away for, but it won’t be any longer than a year.”
The teenager had gained 12 GCSEs at A* and A this summer and had just started A-levels at Colyton Grammar, one of the country’s top state schools.