Sitting quietly in an alleyway near Coventry Central Library, Gary Reynolds says: 'I just try and do the best I can.' He has been on the streets for nearly ten years and revealed the harsh realities of just surviving.

Once a hard-working man with a steady job, Mr Reynolds, who is known as Celtic Gary, said his life changed drastically after having an operation on his leg. Originally from Scotland, the 60-year-old worked in Birmingham before taking on a self-employed job with CJ Furey Construction in Coventry .

After surgery cost him his job and then his flat, Gary was left with nowhere to go. He created a makeshift home in an alleyway near Smithford Way, a place he keeps clean and tidy despite everything. But even this fragile sanctuary came under threat when he was fined for beggi

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