A homeless man has set up camp in the middle of a busy roundabout to get local authorities’ attention and highlight the issue of rough sleepers.
Videos and pictures of Gavin Wilson - known as 'Wilo' - and his distinctive red tent have been shared online and have attracted the attention of thousands
Since he set up his camp in the middle of Aquarium Top roundabout in Scarborough two weeks ago dozens of locals have urged the council to help him.
YorkshireLive caught up with Wilo at the weekend as he returned to the roundabout that is decorated with dinosaurs and palm trees.
He has been homeless since December 12 last year and has spent all but two weeks since then living on the streets.
He said he had been moved on countless times from different areas of the town and that his regular requests for support from the council had fallen on deaf ears.
He said: "The way I see it is we wouldn't treat a dog like this - leaving it without food, shelter or water. Why is it okay to leave a homeless person like this?"
Originally from York, Wilo, 34, said he had lived in Scarborough for the past 17 years.
He said that before he was living on the streets he was in sheltered accommodation but that the owner had kicked him out due to an assault that he said he wasn't involved and because he was told he had "too much stuff".
Speaking amongst a range of items including a Christmas tree, he said he regularly picks up and collects whatever he thinks might make his location more homely.
He said: "If I see something I pick it up."
He said the council "have point blank refused to house me" over the past year and that as a response he wanted to set up in a public space where his struggle could be seen.
Wilo said: "My last words to the council when they said they wouldn't help me were 'I will be seen'.
"I've asked to be housed but they aren't prepared to do it. They do nothing for me. Not a thing."
On his latest choice of location he said: "I've been moved from pillar to post. They kept saying I was in the way of the public so I came here.
"I couldn't be more out of the way if I tried here and it also let's people know what's going on. There's no reason to step on here is there? It's a good, sound spot."
Wilo was aware of the attention that the pictures and videos of him were getting online, to which he said: "You get the odd one saying 'what a bum' but you're bound to get some people who say that.
"I was shown one video of a guy driving past shouting 'Christ, he's got a Christmas tree' which has had 50,000 views. It's mad."
He said he had previously been staying by the paths in the town and had spent a number of weeks living under the shelter of Scarborough Spa and that another reason to get out of the way from the public was to avoid assaults.
"I moved from beneath a shelter under a bridge because I got bottled. I thought 'I will go to the most visible place I can find'."
Wilo said he hadn't been too phased by the coronavirus pandemic and that it's more the winter months that he worries about.
He said: "I will be alright. It won't fuss me too much but it ain't going to be good."
Asked how he ended without a home he said: "It's just one of those things. I just did."
Wilo seemed remarkably upbeat and open during our conversation.
When pointing this out he said: "You've got to be happy. If you are not happy you cry and I've done all of that."
