Flowers have been laid at the scene of a tent encampment in Reading where homeless man Kepha Otundo lived.
Mr Otundo, who was from Kenya, sadly passed away due to exposure to the cold this month.
He previously lived at a tent encampment in Great Knollys Street near the town centre.
The encampment was located on green space next to a bottle bank and opposite the New Beginnings charity, which is run from the old Queens Arms pub.
A man queuing at New Beginnings said that he had seen Mr Otundo living there.
It has been reported Mr Otundo also used his tent in Abbatoirs Road, which is next to shipping container homes used as accommodation for homeless people.
The site where the flowers have been laid was fenced off by Reading Borough Council earlier this month to create a secure rewilded area to prevent further unauthorised encampments.
A spokesperson said: “The council was deeply saddened to hear that a man sleeping rough had died in the town, and our thoughts are with his family and everybody who knew him.
“The individual was known to our local St Mungo’s team, who deliver outreach support for people sleeping rough on behalf of the Council, since May last year.
“As is the case for many individuals who sleep rough, this was a complex case and over a number of months he was regularly offered support by our partner agencies.
“That was also the case during the cold spell around Christmas when he was offered emergency accommodation multiple times.
“This included a bed space as part of the Council’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which was originally accepted by the individual but later declined.
“The space and offer of accommodation, including an offer within Reading’s winter shelter which opens seven days a week between January and March every year, remained open to him right up until his sad passing.
“St Mungo’s Outreach teams are out in Reading every day of the year, late at night and early in the morning.
“They build trust with people experiencing homelessness and engage with people living in encampments such as these, in order to help them to access support and to try to prevent tragedies such as these from occurring.
“Whilst the council had obtained a possession order for the site, it did not need to be enforced as the site was vacated via engagement to assist people with moving on to new accommodation.
“The support we offer to people runs all year round, not just during periods of extreme temperatures. We commission vital services from Reading’s community and voluntary sector to accommodate and support people rough sleeping at any time.
“Over 250 supported accommodation bed spaces (in addition to those offered during a SWEP response) are offered across our Homelessness Support Services to help single people and couples who are found rough sleeping, or at risk of rough sleeping.
“If anyone has any concerns about people sleeping rough in Reading we would ask them to report it to www.thestreetlink.org.uk to notify our local Street Outreach Service of their location so that the teams can visit and offer support.”
