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Chorley man living in 6ft den
It measures just 6ft by 3ft and is made from an old door and plastic sheeting – but it's what one Chorley man calls home.
Desperate Paul Crook has been living in a makeshift den in the shadow of St Mary's Church for more than two months and says he's only alive because of the generosity of his friends and parishioners.
Paul looks older than his 49 years and uses crutches to get about after suffering a stroke.
His 'home' is barely bigger than a dog kennel and an urgent appeal is now being made to re-house him after all available options were exhausted.
He says if he got jailed he would be better off, but he doesn't want to break the law.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Paul spoke about the way his life spiralled downwards because of drugs and alcohol abuse.
He hopes his story will act as a warning to others.
He said: "Strange things have happened to me to get me into this position and they go back a number of years. In a way I put it down to fate.
"I never needed any kind of help before, but if I did I had lots of friends and close family to turn to.
"My brother was on drugs and even the most unlikely people can get hooked on heroin."
At one point Paul got a place at Chorley's Cotswold House hostel, but had to leave after getting into trouble.
He said he hit rock bottom when his mum died of cancer and he found his brother dead after a fatal drugs overdose.
"Suddenly I had less and less places to go," he said.
"I was offered flats in Preston, Blackburn and Rochdale, but I didn't feel safe and got robbed in every single place I went.
"In more than three years I haven't had a permanent place to live and it is getting harder every day.
"When I was able bodied I found it quite exciting, but now I know that this is going to end with me being taken in an ambulance to hospital with pneumonia."
To read more on this story pick up a copy of this week's Guardian
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Weather for Chorley
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
