Man Found Frozen to Death in Garden of Home he Was Evicted From

A homeless man froze to death within months of being evicted from his home of around 20 years. Anthony Barnard, 57, was found dead in the garden of his old house in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on December 28.

Police had raised concerns for his welfare to the ambulance service at 3.46pm the previous day, but it was categorised by the service as a non-emergency call not requiring a response.

After a 999 call to the ambulance service at 10.33am on December 28, Mr Barnard was found dead outside the house in Priors Close.

Andrew McTear, who was dealing with Mr Barnard’s bankruptcy, said that he was made bankrupt in September 2016 and was evicted from his home on September 2017.

‘He wouldn’t have had access to the house itself,’ he said. ‘I think you could get into the back garden by a side path.’

McTear added that he didn’t know where Mr Barnard had been staying since his eviction.

The East of England Ambulance Service said the incident was being ‘formally investigated’ by the trust.

Suffolk Police said they have made a ‘mandatory referral’ to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which will conduct an independent investigation.

An IOPC spokesman said: ‘The matter was referred to us because previous concerns for the man’s welfare had been raised with Suffolk Police. Our investigation will examine the call handling and police response to these calls.’

An ambulance service spokesman said the call from police on December 27 was of a ‘report of concerns for a man who was conscious and breathing and sitting outside at an address in Lowestoft’.

The spokesman continued: ‘We were informed he had no obvious injuries or medical complaint and following triage, the call was categorised as a non-emergency call not requiring a response.’

The call the following day, to the same address in Priors Close, was a ‘report of a man who was not breathing and was in cardiac arrest’.

A paramedic in a rapid response vehicle attended in eight minutes followed by another rapid response vehicle and ambulance officer, the trust said, but the patient was confirmed to have died.

‘This case is being formally investigated by the trust and our findings will be reported back to the family in due course,’ the spokesman said.

A file is being prepared for the Suffolk coroner, with an inquest to be opened and adjourned at a later date.