A tree surgeon was left stunned after finding a woman living in a hedge as he cleared an overgrown field. The homeless woman, thought to be in her 50s, told Gareth Olson she couldn't bear to be away from her cat.
As reported by Cheshire Live, she explained any accommodation she had been offered in the past would not accept the pet which she described as her "soulmate". And it is believed she may have been living in the makeshift home in Chester for as long as three years.
Gareth, 43, contacted a local homeless charity Share and gave the woman the change in his pocket so she could buy some food. He said her home consisted of just a tarpaulin, a few umbrellas, an old sleeping bag and blankets and cushions, with her worldly possessions all around her in bags and boxes.
"It's such a sad story. I felt so shocked and sorry for her," he said.
"I was clearing a piece of land for a private landlord and it hadn't been touched for years. One of our guys was in a tractor and a little hand appeared out of the hedge waving and saying 'I live here'.
"Bless her. When I first met her I said, 'I hope you don't mind me asking but how long have you been here?', and she said a couple of years - probably two or three.
"I asked her how she was managing and she said she was quite a hardy person and all she really needed was a sleeping bag as hers had seen better days. She was clearly not doing well."
He said the woman was afraid she was going to be kicked of the site. "I said no, I'd like to try to help her. I wasn't leaving her there," he said.
"I couldn't sleep that night, wanting to make sure she was OK. She was insistent at first that she would just move on and make sure the site was tidied before she did so.
"It was pretty shocking. It's literally a place to exist. She was clearly keeping herself out of the way. I'm glad that it all came good in the end and she is now getting support."
Adam Dandy from SHARE said with assistance from other local agencies the woman was now receiving help. “Whilst this incident is shocking to us all, we would like to thank everyone involved in helping us to help this lady as soon as we were informed of her location and predicament, especially Forfutures, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Police, and special thanks to the tree surgeon Gareth Olsen," he added.
