UK: Veteran Homeless After 11 Years of Service

Homeless ex-soldier says he has been urinated on and spat at while living on streets of Manchester
Manchester Evening News
BY KATIE BUTLER
21 SEPTEMBER 2015

Billy Gage, who spent 11 years in the army but is now living on the streets, also had his sleeping bag set on fire

Ex British soldier Billy Gage talks about the abuse he has suffered while on the streets

A former British soldier has told how he has been urinated on and had his sleeping bag set on fire while living on the streets of Manchester.

Billy Gage went into the Armed Forces as soon as he left school at the age of 16 and spent 11 years serving his country as an All Arms Commando and went on several tours including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Bosnia and Sierra Leone.

After leaving in 2004 he started his own plastering business, got married and had a son, Daniel.

But when his son was just six-years-old, Daniel tragically died.

The 39-year-old said he is shocked there is not more help for soldiers and he is disgusted at how people treat those living on the streets.

He said: “Sometimes I just go to a quiet street and cry to myself. I just can’t believe I’m in this situation.

“I have put my life on the line for the good of this country and this is the way I’m treated? It’s disgusting.”

He said he has been urinated on, spat on and even had his sleeping bag set on fire while being homeless.
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