It’s Tuesday afternoon and Stuart ‘Pottsy’ Potts receives a phone call from a concerned relative of a homeless man. Word has spread that he is offering shelter to those in need at his one bedroom flat in Middleton.
Listening intently to the phone call between Stuart and the worried family member are Naeem Iqbal, Leon Taaffe and James Swales. Three men from different backgrounds who have found themselves at a similar crossroads in their life and have been taken in by Stuart.
Stuart’s scheme runs on trust, he says. People who come to his door are asked not to partake in hard drugs, do not need to pay rent and are asked to be respectful and kind to others in the flat. Speaking on why he has opened his door to the homeless Stuart, 41, said: “If everybody did it, nobody would be homeless would they?”
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Many Salfordians will know who Stuart is. In 2019 he was jailed for 16 weeks after he let off fireworks at a Remembrance Sunday event from a local pub overlooking a cenotaph in Eccles.
A crowd of over 300 people had gathered at the cenotaph that day and were left 'shocked' when the fireworks exploded above their heads. Some who attended said it sounded like gunshots.
Members of the crowd, including war veterans, had to be held back from the pub by police as they confronted a man hanging out of the window.
Potts claims he set off the fireworks as a sign of ‘respect’ and thought they would be similar to the 'guns set off in London'. Following his arrest however, his Saving People’s Shelter Project was disbanded and the people he was squatting with at the Unicorn Pub in Eccles were re-homed, according to Stuart.
Since leaving jail he has been trying to piece his life back together but says he has taken in close to 100 people since April 2020, when he was let out of prison and moved to temporary accommodation in Middleton by Salford council. “I was isolated, not in my home town and had none of my local people here. I started opening my door to people as soon as I got out of jail and had temporary accommodation.
“Salford Council didn’t know about that but I’m not bothered about what they think. A few months in the temporary accommodation they called me and said they would be relinquishing their duty of care for me because I made myself voluntary homeless (by getting sent to jail).
“I started speaking to people in the area and one of my neighbours told me about this flat that was free. I spoke to the landlady and said ‘look I’ve got no pot to pi** in but I’m on benefits at the minute and soon as I move in I’ll get the money to pay you directly'. She went ‘there’s the keys, I trust you’ It felt like a big break.
“She’s been really decent, she knows what I do. As long as the rent’s paid and I keep everything maintained.”
Naeem Iqbal, 30, came to Stuart’s door after sleeping rough at an Asda car park in Bury for three days. The father of one says he became homeless after he was ‘shafted’ by a local landlord and had received no help from the council.
Originally from Burnley and with links to Preston, Naeem said he had brought his young family to Manchester in search of a new life after a fallout with his family. Naeem says he was illegally evicted from his home after the landlord sold their house despite Naeem paying the deposit for a lease which never materialised.
In desperate need of help, Naeem says all he needed was a month with the Bury homeless services to get himself back on his feet but because he had not been in the area long enough he did not pass the threshold for support. Naeem says he was told to get in touch with Preston Council which he did not want to do for fear of returning to the city, and found himself sleeping rough at a local car park after sending his wife and child back to his in-laws in Burnley.
“It was like a domino effect. I was literally blind-sided.” He said. “I’ve never been homeless in my life, never been short of money, everything’s just collapsed on me within days. I was living in a multi-storey car park for a few days and getting food off people to survive.
“I was using a phone box to charge my phone and I Googled and found Stuart’s number. He was almost five miles away and I walked almost three miles before I was given a lift by someone and here I am.
“Stuart has done nothing but show me love and respect, put food in my stomach and gave me a place to sleep. He’s given me a lot of encouragement and I’ve gone out there and found myself a job.”
Another tenant with Stuart is 29-year-old Leon Taaffe. Originally from the Wirral, his life has been littered with crime since he was teen, in and out of jail for multiple robberies, muggings and an assault. He says he fell into a life of crime after owing money to drug dealers who had made threats to family members.
Looking to turn his life around since his release from prison in August this year, Leon says he lived in Birmingham for a time with an ex-partner before moving to Manchester.
He says he attempted to apply for help from the homeless services in Manchester who he says have accepted the duty of care over him, but has not yet been contacted for a follow up.
After sleeping rough outside Primark in the city centre, Leon says he found Stuart through family members and since living with Stuart, has found himself a part-time job.
“Them six years in jail have kicked me up the arse.” He said. "For all they know I’m still homeless (Manchester City Council), the only thing is I haven’t been to the homeless centres.
“I went to takeaways, I’ve got a part-time job on the weekends. I went into every takeaway looking for a job.
“If you don’t ask you don’t get. I said to my mum on my first week here, ‘I wish I’d done this years ago.’”
James Swales, 26, from Oldham has been living with Stuart for the longest out of the three. A former chef, he called Stuart after being kicked out of a local hotel that hosted homeless people as part of a scheme with Oldham Council.
James says he left the hotel after raising concerns about safety and the state of the rooms that were provided for the homeless. James said his complaints lead to a disputes with management and says the council relinquished their duty of care over him after he made himself voluntary homeless by leaving the hotel.
According to Oldham Council they 'discharged' their homeless duty to James after he spat in an elderly residents face and was aggressive towards staff at the hotel.
James says he suffers from undiagnosed mental health issues such as paranoia and anxiety, which sees him self-harm as a coping mechanism, and that it was at hospital after an episode where he found Stuart’s number.
Speaking about how he came to Stuart’s door, he said: “I rang Stuart from the phone about my situation. I said I may be there about 1am, is that okay?
“He said ‘no matter what, even if you come after that I’ll wait for you and let you in'. I put my foot down and said to the hospital, 'I found somewhere that’s going to give me a lot more safety than here'.
"I'm here now to get myself back together until I'm mentally well enough to back to work."
Regarding Naeem's case, Bury Council said: “We were unable to offer Mr Iqbal emergency accommodation on the night he called us, as he did not meet the criteria. He was advised to apply for permanent accommodation, and invited to come into the town hall to fill in and discuss his application.
"However, Mr Iqbal has not done so, and has not been in touch with us since. We would advise him to contact us and see what help we can provide in finding him a new home.”
A spokesperson for Oldham Council said: “Following agreement with Mr Swales to share this information, we can confirm the Council discharged its homelessness duty to provide temporary accommodation owed to Mr Swales on 12 September 2022, after he spat in an elderly resident’s face and was aggressive to staff.
“We have continued to work with Mr Swales since this time by providing details of possible properties he can access, without success.”
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