EXCLUSIVE The fugitive cave man of Bristol: How wanted man living in subterranean hideout was finally caught by police after bragging about off-grid lifestyle on YouTube

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

Gary Edwards smiled and shook his guest warmly by the hand as he invited him in to his 'cosy' subterranean home - a damp cave outside Bristol which he had moved a mattress and sink into.
Presenting himself as a victim of the city's spiraling homeless crisis, a dirty and bedraggled, but cheerful and optimistic Edwards proudly showed his YouTuber friend around his hovel.
Viewers of the video, which was watched 45,000 times, saw how Edwards had made every effort to make his squat homely, fitting it with a wood-burner, kitchen sink and even a 'double bed' (a dirty mattress and sleeping bag in a dryish corner of the cave).
Responding to questions from interviewer Joe Fish, Edwards took the opportunity to rail against the state of the nation, and specifically the late Tory government, complaining: 'People who are out on the streets have to survive on nothing.
'I haven't had any money off the government in ten years. People treat us differently to everyday society. Society is told homeless people are criminals, drug addicts and alcoholics.'
His eloquence won him many fans in the comment section with people describing the cave man as a 'survivor', an 'inspiration' and a 'great mentor to young people.'
But what the commenters didn't know, and crucially what Edwards didn't say, is his choice of accommodation was no doubt because he was a fugitive who had been wanted by the police for over three years.
MailOnline can reveal that Edwards began living in his makeshift home, located on a sheer drop rockface outside the city limits shortly after he was charged with assaulting an emergency worker in 2022.
He managed to live there for years using his skills as an 'outdoorsman' to survive on the absolute fringes of society, until he was finally arrested in May after MailOnline tipped off the police to his whereabouts and true identity.
Edwards was ordered to appear before Poole magistrate's court to answer to the crime he was charged with back in 2022 but, in a stunning turn of events, the fugitive caveman refused to turn up again.
He is now back on the run to evade concurrent charges which include failing to surrender, failing to comply and the use of threatening language to cause alarm and distress.
MailOnline made repeated attempts to establish from the courts service why he had not been remanded in custody upon his most recent arrest - however, they did not respond.
He has not returned to his cave residence which our exclusive pictures show is now abandoned.
His current location remains a mystery.
Remarkably, despite being wanted by the police, Edwards had saw fit to give a tour of his home to a YouTuber last year, in which he railed against the lack of support homeless people were given by the council.
In the video, titled 'Interview with a Cave Man - I investigate the Cave People living beneath UK City', Mr Edwards bragged that he was able to survive due to his outdoors skills.
He also claimed that the only reason he had joined others living in the colossal cave system was due to a lack of council support for mental health services, moaning: 'For British people if you don't have an addiction or a health problem or you can't be classified as having a mental health issue you just don't don't get anything on the system.'
Edwards was first found by a YouTuber named Joe Fishh investigating the South West cities reclusive cliff dwellers.
Bristol has a well-established homeless epidemic which has led some desperate figures on the edge of society to seek refuge in the caves and nooks scattered along the cliffs on the outskirts of the city close to the famous Clifton suspension bridge.
Edwards, who didn't give his name in the near 40-minute documentary, used his 15-minutes of fame to rail against the perceived injustices in the system.
He said that without a bank account it was impossible to access benefits and even those high street banks that offer a so-called 'homeless person's account' require proof of address from account holders.
Bristol has a well-established homeless epidemic which has led some desperate figures on the edge of society to seek refuge in the caves and nooks
He said without any hope of finding a permanent place to live he has resorted to the caves sorting himself out some running water and setting up a sink to wash his dishes.
Today, his cave seems to be uninhabited.
The dark cave, which can only be accessed through thick shrubbery and via a route which lies on the edge of a cliff face, has a large reconstructed metal fence as its entrance which now lies open.
On the metal fence are the words 'community spirits keeps us going'.
To the left of the entrance, there is a sink on top of a pool of dirty water, with pots and pans hanging from a metal fence.
Intriguing items were scattered across the cave floor, including a giant and filthy teddy bear, a tattered copy of 'The Great Controversy', an empty paint bucket, roll-on deodorant and a calculator.
A doorstop, water bottle, kitchen knife, bike light, a head torch, lighters and a single large sandle (size 11) were among other items lying in small suitcase near the entrance to the cave.
There is, what appears to be a stove, in a makeshift kitchen separated from the cave via wooden poles.
Crisscrossed wooden sticks and branches have been placed on top of rocks to create a makeshift roof over some dirty blankets and a duvet - which is presumably the bed the cave dweller slept on.
A booklet was discovered next to the makeshift bed - which was a copy given out to the attendees of Massive Attack's famous 1.5 degrees climate action performance, which took place in Bristol in 2024.
Next to the blankets were random items including eggshells, hand warmers, baby wipes, a flask, toiletries, a thermostat, a pocket mirror, scissors and a torch.
An unopened Cucina tomato sauce jar was also discovered, which you can purchase from Aldi, had an expiry date which went back to 2023.
An opened BBQ flavoured Pringles can was also found on some rocks - and this expiry date wrote 2025.
There was various graffiti written on the rocks and cave walls.
Speaking last year, Edwards said: ''I sort of generally take care of the place. I've already cleaned six bagfuls of cans and bottles out of there.
'There were loads of old sleeping bags that you know you wouldn't ever want to sleep in again so we got rid of all of them and and basically cleaned out all the cr*p.'