Scare home: Destitute man moves into a 100-year-old GRAVE after losing his house

Bratislav Stojanovic, 43, has lived in a cemetery in Serbia for 15 years

The former construction worker lost his house after accumulating debts he could not pay

Mr Stojanovic said that he feels more comfortable in the grave than on the streets

A homeless man has told how he began sleeping with the dead when he moved into a cemetery 15 years ago.



Bratislav Stojanovic, 43, has shared the burial plot with the ashes of a a family who died out more than 100 years ago in Nis, Serbia.

But after giving the grave a changing tombs-style makeover the former construction worker said he feels at home.

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Homeless Bratislav Stojanovic said that he would rather sleep in the grave than on the street in the cold weather

His tomb is only two square yards and the ceiling is just one yard high

At night Stojanovic uses candles foraged from the cemetery for light

He said: 'It is dry and it is warm. I have some lamps and my personal possessions.

'It isn't a palace but it is more comfortable than the street.'

Mr Stojanovic, who has never had a regular job, lost his home in the town after running up debts.

He moved into the grave after dossing down in the streets for months and now spends his time foraging in the out of use cemetery for candles.

The cemetery is now closed making it harder for Stojanovic to find candles

The tomb belongs to a family who died out 100 years ago

Mr Stojanovic has lived in the cemetery for 15 years after he lost his house

Homeless Bratislav Stojanovic rests as he sits on a grave stone in the cemetery he has lived in for 15 years

Mr Stojanovic said that living with the dead isn't as scary as some might think. He said: 'I was afraid in the beginning, but I got used to it in time. Now I am more afraid of the living than of the dead

'Whenever I want to crawl out I first check if there's someone around, otherwise I could scare a person to death.



'People are very kind to me, they sometimes bring me food or clothes.

'Sometimes I have to get my food from rubbish bins but it can be very nutritious. It's amazing what people throw away," he explained.

'It doesn't frighten me to sleep in a grave. The dead are dead. I'm more frightened of being hungry.

Mr Stojanovic shelters from the cold weather in the cemetery

Foraging for food in the town's rubbish bins. He says that locals sometimes bring him food

'And if I die in the night, at least I'm in the right place.'

Mr Stojanovic lives on a diet of food he collects from the rubbish and collects cigarette butts he finds on the ground.

His tomb spans only two-square yards and the ceiling is one yard high.



Officials at the cemetery say their squatter can stay as long as he does not disturb other visitors.

Smoker Mr Stojanovic searches for cigarette butts in the town of Nis (left) and he walks along a railway line near the cemetery (right)

'The family who owned the tomb are long gone so technically it belongs to no-one. If he behaves himself there are no plans to evict him,' said a spokesman.

The name of the family who owned the tomb is unknown as the names have eroded from the gravestone.