Doncaster firefighter's rough-sleep month for homeless veterans
A firefighter plans to sleep outside for the whole of March in an effort to raise money for homeless veterans.South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue station manager Gary Devonport, 40, said he hoped to raise £3,000 for the Royal British Legion Industries charity, while also raising awareness of the problems veterans faced when they left the Army.Mr Devonport said his experiences in the armed forces and supporting the veteran community in the fire service had inspired the challenge."The original plan was for one night, but I thought to raise as much money as I could it had to be some sort of a challenge. So I decided to do it for a month - and with no tent as well," he explained.
Mr Devonport said his challenge was part of The Great Tommy Sleep Out, a national fundraising challenge designed to support homeless veterans experiencing homelessness in the UK.He said he would spend most nights in March in a sleeping bag under tarpaulin in his garden."I will use an old school military basha, which is essentially a bit like a tarpaulin that you normally span from a couple of trees, but it might be a garden fence," he said.
Mr Devonport served in the armed forces for six years between 2001 and 2007 before becoming a firefighter."I loved my time in the military. It just kind of came to a natural end and I needed something for me that was similar in terms of discipline, structure and meaning," he said."I think it's quite important to be a part of something. So, for me, leaving the military, I was always going to try to be in a uniform service because I saw the natural similarities between them both."Mr Devonport, who works with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue's Armed Forces Network supporting other veterans, said soldiers were "notoriously terrible at asking for help"."That's why some find their way on to the streets, because it's not normally first nature to ask people for support," he said."We've seen a boom in general homelessness anyway, in the last sort of 10 years. You only have to go to London and look in most alleyways to see there's quite a lot of homelessness."Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Australia: Bouncy castle operator cleared in tragedy that killed six children
An Australian bouncy castle operator at the centre of a tragedy in 2021 that killed six children and seriously injured three has been cleared of breaching safety laws.A court found Rosemary Anne Gamble, who runs the business Taz-Zorb, not guilty, ruling that the incident was "due to an unprecedented weather system" that was "impossible to predict".The victims, who were on a bouncy castle at a primary school fun day in Devonport, Tasmania, fell about 10m (33ft) after strong winds blew the castle skywards at a school verdict on Friday caused anguish among their families, with some crying out in court in disbelief, ABC News reported. Prosecutors had accused Ms Gamble of failing to anchor the castle adequately, but her defence argued she could not have done more to eliminate or reduce hazards that led to the Robert Webster agreed with the defence and found that the incident happened due to a dust devil - an upward spiralling vortex of air and debris - that was "unforeseen and unforeseeable"."Ms Gamble could have done more or taken further steps, however, given the effects of the unforeseen and unforeseeable dust devil, had she done so, that would sadly have made no difference to the ultimate outcome," the magistrate six children killed in the accident - Addison Stewart, Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Chace Harrison - were aged between 11 and were all at a Hillcrest Primary School fair when the accident took place on the last day of term before the school holidays in December of the children were on the castle when the gales swept it up and flung it across the school oval. The sixth child, who was waiting in line, died after being struck in the head by the inflatable tragic accident shattered Devonport, a city on the north coast of Tasmania with some 30,000 Gamble was charged nearly two years after, in November 2023. Andrew Dodt, the father of one of the young victims Peter, said after Friday's verdict that "our hopes are just shattered now"."At the end of the day all I wanted was an apology for my son not coming home, and I'm never going to get it, and that kills me," he said in a statement to local media."I've been broken for a long time, and I think I'm going to be broken for a lot more."Ms Gamble's lawyer Bethan Frake spoke on her behalf, acknowledging that the incident has caused "scars that will remain for an extremely long time, likely forever"."I am a mother," she said, quoting Ms Gamble. "I can only imagine the pain that other parents are living with each and every day because of this terrible thing that happened.""Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
Woman who set up Hillcrest jumping castle not guilty following deaths of six primary school students in Tasmania
The operator of a jumping castle at the centre of an incident that killed six children has been cleared of breaching workplace safety laws. Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport in December 2021. They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the Tasmanian school's oval when a wind gust lifted the castle into the air. Three other children were seriously injured. Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb which set up the equipment, pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty. She was found not guilty by magistrate Robert Webster in Devonport magistrates court on Friday. Webster didn't read the full decision which was expected to be published online. 'I found the charge is not proven. It is dismissed. Ms Gamble you are free to go,' he said. Gamble faced a 10-day hearing in November where it was alleged she only used pegs at four of the castle's eight anchor points, despite the manufacturer's instructions recommending eight. Her lawyer, Chris Dockray, argued Gamble had been left out to dry by the castle's Chinese manufacturer. East Inflatables didn't provide instructions to Gamble upon purchase and only supplied four pegs, Dockray told the court. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Gamble instead downloaded a two-page manual from the company's website, he said, which resulted in an interpretation that four pegs were sufficient. According to court documents, seven students were on the castle when a significant weather event dislodged it. They fell from the castle, while a blower attached to the castle to keep it inflated struck a nearby student. Preparations for an inquest had been paused due to the criminal proceedings, while a class action has also been launched against Gamble, as well as the state of Tasmania.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS D-day for embattled jumping castle operator as she learns her fate over tragedy that killed six children
The operator of a jumping castle at the centre of a tragedy that killed six children has been cleared of breaching workplace safety laws. Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport in December 2021. They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the Tasmanian school's oval when a wind gust lifted the castle into the air. Three other children were seriously injured in the accident. Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb which set up the equipment, pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty. She was found not guilty by Magistrate Robert Webster, who handed down his decision in Devonport Magistrates Court on Friday. Mr Webster didn't read the full decision, which is expected to be published online. 'I found the charge is not proven. It is dismissed. Ms Gamble you are free to go,' he said. Gamble faced a 10-day hearing in November where it was alleged she only used pegs at four of the castle's eight anchor points, despite the manufacturer's instructions recommending eight. Her lawyer Chris Dockray argued Gamble had been left out to dry by the castle's Chinese manufacturer. East Inflatables didn't provide instructions to Gamble upon purchase and only supplied four pegs, Mr Dockray said. Gamble instead downloaded a two-page manual from the company's website, he said, which resulted in an interpretation that four pegs were sufficient. According to court documents, seven students were on the castle when a significant weather event dislodged it. They fell from the castle, while a blower attached to the castle to keep it inflated struck a nearby student. Preparations for an inquest have been paused due to the criminal proceedings, while a class action has also been launched against Gamble as well as the state of Tasmania.
