Pictured: Gordon Ramsay's homeless brother Ronnie sleeping rough on the street



Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay may be going through a sticky patch at the moment, but at least things aren't so bad that he has to sleep on the streets.

However, that is precisely the plight that has befallen his brother, Ronnie.

The 41-year-old heroin addict is pictured here in his sleeping bag in a city side street in Plymouth, where he sells the Big Issue.

On the streets: Gordon Ramsay's homeless brother Ronnie wakes up this morning after sleeping rough in a car park in Plymouth

Ronnie was photographed apparently asleep resting on his hand this morning at 6am and later receiving a cup of coffee from a passer-by.



It is a far cry from the lifestyle of his older brother, who owns a string of restaurants - for now - and hosts many a lively TV cookery show.

However, on close inspection, Ronnie appears to have recently shaved and had a haircut and was in possession of a clean-looking sleeping bag, decent clothes and a tidy mountain bike.

All of which either means that he's found the Devon town quite generous to his circumstances - or has a mysterious benefactor.



Pitiful: The heroin addict is back in Britain after recently serving a prison sentence in Indonesia after he was caught in possession of the class A drug



Ronnie is back in Britain after recently returning from Indonesia, where he was jailed in 2007 for possessing Class A drug heroin.

In February 2007, he was caught with 100mg of heroin outside a supermarket in the Balinese resort of Kuta, fined £260 and jailed for ten months.

He appealed to his brother for £6,000 for a top lawyer to help him escape the charges, but Ramsay refused.

At the time, Ronnie said: 'All it is to him is the price of a wheel off one of his Ferraris.'

Mr Ramsay recently revealed Gordon and his mother have 'wiped their hands' of him and are refusing to speak to him.

He said: 'I'm down on my luck and haven't had any contact with Gordon or my mum for a while.

'They have wiped their hands of me and this is all I can do to get by.

'Things have gone bad for me since I was in Indonesia. I've been back in Britain for ages but the family won't talk to me.'

On your bike: He sells the Big Issue and raised funds to buy a cycle, but Gordon has washed his hands of his younger sibling



Gordon has paid for his younger brother to attend rehab five times

Speaking in his autobiography, Humble Pie, the chef countered that he had previously paid for his younger brother to attend rehab five times.

He wrote: 'It's the one thing I feel I've failed at. I find it hard knowing that there's nothing I can do to help.'

After he was jailed Gordon Ramsay also revealed his heroin addict brother threatened to kill him and his children in an effort to get cash.

He said: 'Of course Ronnie wanted money. He's tried everything. Death threats. Calls at midnight from various horrible people saying they know what time my kids leave school.

'Things like that, which you just shouldn't have to have in your life.

'I've changed my numbers, got extra security in the house with CCTV everywhere, but I'm not giving in. I'm not living like that anymore.'

Ramsay began supporting his brother years ago and confessed that he even bought him heroin to get him through their father's funeral in 1997.

Their mother, Helen Cosgrove, lives in Taunton, Somerset.