'I'm a homeless ex-soldier and it feels like having a target on my back'

Leeds beggar Graham spoke of the horrid abuse he's subjected to on the streets

An ex-soldier says being homeless "feels like having a target on your back" while opening up about the horrid abuse on the streets.

Graham, 56, grew up in care in Hull in an abusive home and was subject to beatings . He says he spent 10 years in the British Army, through the 1980s, and still experiences trauma from his past.

He says he rose to the ranks of sergeant in the Duke of Wellington Infantry, in the rapid reaction force. He still lives with guilt after "taking life".

Graham said: "I've got post-traumatic stress disorder. Most nights, if I don't have a few beers to knock me out, I see the kid's eyes and face. I remember the blood on my hand. I have started to process it. There was a guy in the church who I spoke about it. He told me I was just doing my duty and that was the beginning of me accepting it."

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He served two tours in Northern Ireland and eventually felt he had to leave after a comrade was killed. He was in and out of various labouring jobs but succumbed to drink, and then lost the roof over his head as the rent was in his partner's name at the time. Graham said: "I just went on a downward spiral."

He's been on the streets for about five years, on and off. Speaking about his experience, Graham said: "95 percent of people totally ignore you, they don't even make eye contact. I don't ask people, I don't want to put my issues on other people."

Speaking about surviving on the streets, Graham says he learnt quickly to adapt. He currently lives in a tent in a wooded area. Graham said: "I learnt pretty damn quick, you have a target on your back when you're homeless. From a safety point of view, from my tent, I can hear anyone approaching."

'Hit in the face with a Lambrini bottle'

He says sleeping rough in urban environments in Leeds triggered the move to the woods. Graham said: "I was laid in a sleeping bag and I felt a kick in my back. I looked around and then 'wham!' I got hit in the face with a Lambrini bottle. I lost my teeth on one side."

He's had to "curb his temper" while begging to deal with the torrent of abuse from people regularly giving him abuse, accusing him of being a "bag head and crack head". He says "you have to learn to accept it".

"A week and a half a go, a guy gave me £20. I was walking home back to my tent and then everything went black and then I woke up and the £20 was gone. I think it must have been another homeless around here.

"I've been spat at. Cars have driven past thrown full cans of Red Bull at me. It just missed me by inches. You've always got to be alert and aware."