There but for the grace of God...

Troubled times have come for a 26-year-old man who is sleeping rough in an old pump room

Here's a few things that Martyn Lynam isn't: an alcoholic, in debt, a thief, a violent man, or a junkie.

The 26-year-old doesn't feature on any social services lists, he's never begged or busked nor had run-ins with the law, and he doesn't suffer from any mental or physical disability.

Yet Martyn is homeless. He sleeps in an old pump room off a main road in Oakengates, Telford, unless he's offered a place at a Salvation Army emergency unit.

"It's tough," he says.

"I just want to get my life on track."

Homeless people are stereotyped as being winos who end up on the streets to avoid big bills, mortgage defaults or other serious issues.

In fact, few of Shropshire's street dwellers fall into such categories. Martyn is typical. He found himself homeless because his brother told him he could no longer sleep at his house.

Martyn says: "I found myself on the streets and didn't expect it. I'm not angry or bitter. I just see it as a learning curve. I need to sort my life out. This will give me the jolt I need."

Martyn grew up in Southampton and joined the Army after an unremarkable school career. He was medically discharged after seven months, because of a shoulder injury. He drifted into pubs and clubs, obtaining licensees' qualifications. About five years ago, he moved to Telford to live with his brother, in Malinslee.

Martyn stumped up rent in Malinslee and, from time to time, moved in with various girlfriends and mates, before drifting back to his sibling. He worked in local pubs and signed on at other times. That all came to an end, however, just over two weeks ago.

"I don't want to go into the detail," he says.

"But I was asked to leave. There wasn't a big scene or a big falling out. I hadn't expected it at all. But I couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't my place so I had to go."

Martyn's first night as a homeless person involved kipping on a mate's couch.

"That was only for one night," he says.

"After that, I was on the street."

He'd seen an old pump room while travelling on the bus and made his way to it.

"I had got two Stephen King books with me and a sleeping bag. I'd left a bag of clothes at a mate's. That was about it."

For three nights, Martyn endured a nervous, petrified semi-sleep on a hard, wet floor. Every rustle in the surrounding woodland woke him. He was disturbed by cars passing and the sound of people walking a metre or so from where he lay.

"I was scared to death," he says.

"Your mind just goes into overdrive. I tried to read myself to sleep, but it got dark at 8pm. Then you drift on and off all night. It's horrible."

Martyn survived on a packet of Rich Tea biscuits and a 17p litre of Cola from a local supermarket for three days. Having been turned away by a number of organisations, which declared him ineligible for assistance, he turned to the Salvation Army, in Wellington.

"They gave me a food parcel," he says.

"And a bed for the night."

Martyn's weeks of homelessness have seen him lose weight and become physically and emotionally drained.

"Your reserves of energy and goodwill just disappear," he says.

But there's no rancour or ill will. He's merely hopeful that it won't happen again.

"I'll use this to make sure I get back on the right road," he says.

"Really, I want to get a place of my own and a good job with a regular wage. I want to do what everybody else does. I don't want to be sleeping on the hard, wet floor of a pump room."

Martyn is homeless person number 837 to receive assistance from the Salvation Army's Kip project, at Tan Bank, in Wellington.

Project spokesman Alan Olver says Kip was launched four-and-a-half years ago to provide emergency assistance. He says Martyn's phlegmatic and philosophical approach is typical of many who find themselves homeless.

Alan says: "The idea of Kip was that we would eventually find a place for people to stay – a Kip-In-Place, hence Kip. We didn't want people to be sleeping rough, exposed to the elements.

"In the first year we expected 50 people to come to us but within months found we'd reached that total. So we had to look at innovative ways of finding accommodation.

"We went to the private sector and leased properties under a limited company, a not-for-profit community enterprise. All of the leases are done through that company. We now have 43 units of accommodation for people whom the local authority does not have a statutory duty to accommodate."

Martyn says all manner of people present themselves to Kip.

"They are people for whom everything was hunky-dory the day before and who've suddenly experienced a catastrophic event that has led to them becoming homeless.

"The bottom falls out of their world. Some have been made redundant or have drug or alcohol problems, or mental health issues. Others don't. They are just like you and I."

This month, Kip is running a month-long awareness programme.

Alan says: "We need more funding and more accommodation and we desperately need the private sector and volunteers to help us."

Martyn and 836 people like him would urge your support.

• People can find out more about the Kip project, or make a donation, by telephoning 07984 713768.