A LEADING city homelessness campaigner has repeated his calls for more to be done to examine the death of rough sleeper Cardon Banfield in a tent just over two years ago.
Hugo Sugg issued the plea at a memorial event outside the Guildhall to remember Mr Banfield on Thursday, two years on from the day he was found.
The rough sleeper was discovered in July 2016 close to the cricket ground on New Road and his death sparked fury among homeless campaigners who have demanded answers since the tragedy was uncovered.
His body was so badly decomposed he had to be identified from his DNA and an inquest into his death recorded an open verdict.
Worcester City Council commissioned an independent examination into the death of 74-year-old Cardon Banfield which looked at the contact between Mr Banfield and local authority services in the year leading up to his death.
The review found opportunties were missed to house Mr Banfield and called for a number of recommendations to be put in place by council chiefs.
Mr Sugg organised the event as part of his Justice for Cardon campaign and pitched an empty tent on the High Street as as a visual protest to council bosses and to reflect how often people walk past the homeless without talking to them.
The devoted campaigner said the recent independent review into Mr Banfield’s death was not enough to explain the death of Cardon Banfield.
“I hope today means we are closer to answers and justice than further away from it. There’s been an independent review but it didn’t look into the commissioning of the service or contact the police,” he said.
“The police were the second people to see the body and the commissioning is really important because prior to April 2016 there was an outreach service which worked with Cardon and other rough sleepers.
“In April 2016 – three months before Cardon was found – the outreach service got cut.”
