A Kingston woman is trying to raise money to help get a rough sleeper into a home, after finding out all his belongings had been stolen.

Jodee Chambers, 24, met Timothy while walking through the passageway where he lives, close to Marks and Spencer in Kingston.

She said: “Usually I don’t walk down there, but I did for some reason. I saw him and he smiled at me before looking down and reading his newspaper. I stopped and spoke to him for a bit.

“He said thanks for just stopping and talking to him for five minutes, which I thought was quite sad.”

Over the next few weeks, Jodee stopped and spoke with Timothy, who has been homeless for 35 years, occasionally giving him small amounts of money, food and drink.

She said he used to be addicted to alcohol and feels he cannot go to a hostel because of the temptation to drink that would bring.

He sleeps on a small bed in the passage with his friend Kirk, who was in the Army.

One day, Jodee, who recently started an eyelash business, went to take Timothy some food, but he was sat “looking really sad”.

She said: “He said a girl had sat on the bed next to his the previous night crying. There was a young guy with her, both about 17 years old, and they said they were homeless so he let them stay there.

“He went to get coffee or some water the next morning and when he came back they had taken everything.

“They took his medicine, all his toiletries, jumpers and his radio. I just didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t believe that someone had done it.”

So Jodee started a fundraising page to try to get Timothy a year’s rent somewhere in Kingston.

She said: “I told him about it and he was looking in complete shock. His mouth was open the whole time.”

Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness operational director Matt Hatton said visible homelessness in the borough is rising.

He said: “It is rising slightly in numbers. But more than that we’re seeing the complexity of each case has increased.

“I would encourage the public to give to grassroots local organisations. We can offer follow-up support to people who might not be ready to go into renting situations.”

The fundraising page can be found at gofundme.com/giving-timothy-a-chance.