Known as the “homeless guy in the chair”, Terry Moses has literally become a part of the furniture in Truro.

For three years he has been sleeping rough in an office chair in shop doorways in the city, most recently at ProCook in Pydar Street.

His relationship with shopkeepers and staff in that part of the city centre is unique – he acts as an unofficial, voluntary security guard, ensuring the premises in Pydar Street and High Cross are safe at night, and in turn the workers have taken 57-year-old Terry to their hearts.

In fact, staff at the Nationwide bank have had a whip-round and donated to ensure Terry has a few nights in a warm hotel room over Christmas, away from the cold streets of Truro. The bank gives him an office chair to sleep on, The Body Shop look after his bags and belongings during the day and other shops like Sharps Bedrooms make him mugs of hot tea.

Community anti-social behaviour officer Steve Lennon regularly brings him food, including roast pork rolls when it’s seasonal lshopate night shopping, and a member of staff at Waterstones book shop even offered him a place to stay on a particularly cold night recently.

Local businesswoman Clare Curtis is one of those who looks out for Terry, taking him a hot water bottle and soup at night, making sure he’s okay and taking time for a chat. She said: “The way people have rallied around to help Terry is so touching.

“The community and their generosity shows how much they care. I went with Rose from St Petrocs to try and help Terry this week, but he’s quite fixed in his views that he won’t like shared accommodation.

"Her and the council are continuing to meet with him to try and find a way to help, but in the meantime, some money has been raised to help him afford shelter when the weather becomes untenable.”

 

Terry Moses pictured in High Cross, the area of Truro where he lives on the street (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

Terry Moses pictured in High Cross, the area of Truro where he lives on the street (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

 

Terry lived in a bungalow in St Newlyn East with his mum until she died from cancer in 2019. He then put himself up in a Premier Inn in Exeter from his share of the sale of the property, but the money soon ran out and he ended up living on the streets in Plymouth – to be near his sister – and now Truro.

A former weightlifter who worked as a doorman in Newquay in the 1990s, Terry doesn’t use sleeping bags and can even sleep standing up, as long as he’s got a wall to lean on. He relies on layers of clothing to keep warm – “I wore six jumpers on Friday night”.

While he wouldn’t exactly say he loves it, sleeping rough seems to suit Terry who says he doesn’t “tick any boxes” for emergency accommodation – “I don’t drink, take drugs or have mental health issues” – and when he is offered a place to live invariably turns it down, concerned by the company he may have to keep. “I cannot be around alkies and druggies – I’m disciplined from my years of weightlifting.”

He says even if he does find a place he wouldn’t be able to afford the rent as he lives on Universal Credit. One woman who has befriended him even told him she’d help with the deposit on a place.

Terry, who told me he trained to be a priest in his youth, says that life on the street is a “vicious circle”. He wanted to apply to the Royal Mail for some part-time work but needed an address “so it was no-go”.

It appears, from talking to support agencies, that he has been given help and support to find a home away from the streets but eschews it. Instead, he has grown fond of his patch in Pydar Street and at High Cross outside the cathedral, making friends with many of the shopkeepers and passersby.

He told us: “I’m friends with all the shop people and everyone at the cathedral. I keep an eye out for everywhere at night to make sure they don’t get vandalised or robbed. I’m friends with all the cops too. I’ve made friends with everyone – it’s not to do with me being homeless, it’s to do with trying to make Truro a nicer place.

“They all look out for me around here. They’re as good as gold.”

One of the staff at Nationwide added: “We all love Terry – he keeps an eye on the shops at night. He’s the salt of the earth and is a very proud man.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “We don’t want to see anyone in the position of being forced to sleep rough. If someone is sleeping rough, our outreach team try to engage with them to offer advice and support. If the person sleeping rough accepts the help on offer, we will take steps to help them secure accommodation.”

Anyone who is concerned about someone sleeping rough should contact Streetlink – a 24/7 website https://thestreetlink.org.uk/, to send out an alert about the location of someone sleeping rough. Anyone who feels they are in danger of having to sleep rough should call the council on 0300 1234 161.