Death of well-liked homeless man '˜highlights town's growing problem'

The 38-year-old man - named locally as Mark - was found unresponsive on New Beetwell Street at 1.45am on Thursday morning (January 5).

He has not yet been formally identified but police say his family has been informed of his death.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “He was always nice and pleasant with us - I really liked him.

“He was a cracking lad - really funny.

“He had a great personality and had a laugh with everybody.

“I just felt incredibly sorry for him because of the things that had happened to him in his life.”

The woman - who had known Mark about six months - said the tragedy highlighted the ‘growing’ problem of homelessness in Chesterfield.

“The council doesn’t seem to believe we have a homeless problem, but we do,” she said.

“There is no emergency housing and there is nowhere for people to go and sleep for just one night.

“I don’t think Mark is the first person to die on the streets this winter.”