LOCAL PEOPLE have turned out to pay their final respects to Michael Gething, following his cold and lonely death on the streets of Totnes last month. Mr Gething, who died of hypothermia in an alleyway next to the Methodist Church on 4 November, was carried by mourners during a moving and poignant procession. Mr Gething, 42, had been living in the town for about 18 months, after leaving his hometown of Plymouth, where he had been subjected to beatings by drunk passers-by. As the coffin made its way through the town, the procession paused by the spot where he died and at the garden by the Arcturus Centre, where Graham Walker had been raising funds for the funeral and the homeless during a 48-hour vigil. Mr Walker, who's sleep out raised enough money to pay for Mr Gething's burial as well as extra funds to help the remaining 17 homeless people in the town through the winter, said: "He died on the street. I think that, as a community, we should be aware of that fact and acknowledge it, and do something about it." Undertaker Ru Callender from the Green Funeral Company said: "I hope people might put their judgements aside about what life on the streets is like, and what people who live on the streets are like. I hope they can see that they are ordinary people who have fallen on hard times." John Macadie, owner of the Red Wizard café, had helped arrange the ceremony and called on the local authorities to act now to ensure there are no more deaths on Totnes streets. "Three people ...

• published: 07 Dec 2012
• views: 338
• author: TotnesFMRadio