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A man in a coma had his temporary accommodation taken away while he was in hospital because the council said he had made himself intentionally homeless.

The young man with mental health problems was told he had broken the terms of his Torbay Council housing contract by failing to occupy his room every night.

Also a letter from the housing department said he was asked to leave the accommodation because he had taken an overdose 'against guidance from mental health'.

Chris, who is now aged 22, but was 20 at the time, was in a temporary bed and breakfast room in Paignton while he was applying for a disability allowance [PIP] Personal Independent Payment. At the time he was suicidal and under the care of the mental health team.

He said: "Torbay Council's housing department talked to me almost like a robot. I was told, 'It's your fault because you have taken another overdose. The mental health team told you not to.'

"They were completely emotionless about the whole thing."

In response Torbay Council said: "We will not discuss individual cases and the person involved has the right to ask for a review of the decision."

The housing letter says: "Temporary accommodation was provided for you under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996. Subsequently you have failed to occupy your room provided for you by housing options and have not returned.

"You understand from signing your licence agreement that you must occupy your room every night without prior consent from housing services. "

And it goes on: "As you have again taken an overdose and have gone against the assistance and guidance from mental health you have been asked to leave the accommodation."

Chris says he had nowhere to go and the hospital kept him for two extra nights. After that he spent two weeks living rough on Dartmoor because he said he suffered from paranoia and felt too scared to sleep in Torbay.

Chris has now brought his story to light after reading on DevonLive about a woman with similar mental health difficulties who had been told by Torbay Council that she was 'resilient enough' to live on the streets.

Chris said: "I also suffer with depression, an emotionally unstable personality disorder and borderline personality disorder and I ended up sleeping rough after the council threw me out of my temporary accommodation."

He said: "They said I had declared myself intentionally homeless - despite the fact that I was in an induced coma at the time and despite being sectioned under section 5.2 of the Mental Health Act.

"The Torbay Council housing department knew I was in hospital and they had spoken to the mental health team about it.

"I have met other people who have had their accommodation taken away from them for being in hospital and for not following the advice of the mental health team not to attempt suicide.

"The hospital put me into a coma against my will because my liver would have failed and I would have died.

"I was furious when I first woke up. Now to this day I am grateful that the hospital did that and saved my life and my liver."

The letter in full is published below:

Chris said: "The council say they cannot provide accommodation that meets your needs.

"But I think when you are in a dark place like I was - and like many people who have mental health difficulties - even if it's not supported accommodation, anything is better than being left to live on the streets.

"That's what happened to me in 2017 in Torbay after that letter. The hospital kept me in for two extra days because they knew I had nowhere else to go.

"After that I was homeless for about two weeks. I felt so lost and desperate. I found out how to get hold of sleeping tablets and I used meds to get through it by sleeping most of the time.

"I was too paranoid to stay in Torbay because of the bullies who had threatened to skin me alive when I was 16. That had put the fear of God into me.

"I slept all over the place - usually I slept rough on Dartmoor near Two Bridges. I didn't know who to turn to. I was holding on to the thought that suicide wasn't an option - because it doesn't take away the pain, it just transfers it to someone else.

"I just fell into this mental hell hole. Eventually I moved to Exeter and the support is so much better.

"When I was looking for private accommodation in Torquay after my PIP [Personal Independence Payment] finally got sorted out, the council was very reluctant to assist me. They would just tell you to read the website and on the phone they always said they were too busy and had to go.

"In Exeter they helped me fill in forms for housing benefits and invited me to come in for a chat. They were very open to me when I had mental health difficulties.

"My situation is still very up and down but the support is better in Exeter in every sense, even though there is always this waiting list and no funding from the NHS. I don't blame the NHS staff it's not their fault."