by A soon-to-be-released prisoner has told how he is living in a tent under a bridge over the M4 motorway. “I would reoffend and go back to prison than be homeless,” said Warren Rees, 39. “When I was behind bars, it’s scary. Violence is happening, and it’s difficult. But from now on you are all on your own.
“You worry about someone doing something to your tent, but in prison the door is locked. Job is done.”
Warren is one of 1,700 prisoners released earlier this month following increased pressure on UK prisons. He was released from Pen-y-bont Prison on Ogwr in Wales. Under the bridge, over which cars run, there is little protection from the wind, which blows through below.
Warren pitched his tent on some rock, as the grass in the area is too wet. It is located right next to a river in which he sometimes swims. Describing what it’s like to sleep there, he said: “Sometimes you can’t sleep at all and you live day by day.”
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Warren has been sentenced to prison twice in the past year. Initially, he pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court to possessing an offensive weapon and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on 25 September 2023. A few months later, he was at Cardiff Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty of grievous bodily harm. with intent and was sentenced to 30 months. He spent time first in HMP Cardiff and then in Parc Prison, Bridgehead, and would still be there if not for the early release programme.
Before he spent time in prison, he lived in council housing, which he lost his tenancy when he went back to prison this year. When he was released, he spent his first night under the bridge without a sleeping bag, tent or blankets. He now relies on support from local charities, but is still wearing the same clothes he left prison in, reports Wales Online.
He said: “It’s hard, to be honest. It’s better in prison. You don’t have any worries. Until it’s time to come back out. It’s not life. I’d rather be in a house where a whole life and you spend and you turn at night.”
Warren is far from the only prisoner on the streets after being released. In the year from April 2023 to March 2024, 12.3 percent of released inmates had nowhere to go and became homeless upon release, according to Offender Housing Results – Statistical Summary. And the issue is part of a wider problem, with one study showing that 60 per cent of prisoners said housing would stop them re-offending, according to the Prison Reform Trust.
Warren has lost touch with his friends and family after his sentencing, and says he is doing his best to stay out of trouble and move on with his life. “My parents died when I was younger. I went down the wrong path and after that my relationship with my sisters broke down when I was making mistakes”, he said.
“I have a daughter that I can’t see, and I get that. But I always wanted to know her. She changed my world. I myself am up to it all. My aunt also lives in Bridgeside and is happy to let me have a shower at her house and wash my clothes but she is also sick, and I don’t want to be a burden on her.”
Warren currently receives support from charities, including the Wallich, which has a branch in Kilbridge, and the BARC Community Outreach Centre. He goes to BARC every morning to get meals, and says the charity has been “a lifesaver”.
“I like to keep out of the way. I don’t want any trouble”, explained Warren. He has avoided sleeping on the streets himself and has chosen to hide himself under a bridge on the M4 for now, until he can find permanent accommodation and a place.
Warren hides his tent and bedding where he isn’t sleeping, so it won’t be stolen, and notes that he needs more bedding to protect him from the cold, but he would struggle with any carry another thing around and keep it safe.
Looking ahead, he believes he is now ready to lead a stable life after years of struggle, and says he regrets the things he did when he was younger.
“I’ve grown up now and I’m not that person anymore. I want a second chance. Someone’s hand would jump off if they wanted me to work for them. I can do all sorts and I’m good at building and that’s all.
“I thought I couldn’t stop him, but I ended up on the wrong side of the road. I’ve done all the bad behavior and it’s time for me to grow up and act my age. I want life.”
Ffion Evans, who works at BARC, Bridgehead, said: “There are a lot of clients coming in now and a lot of them are being released from prison early and it’s quite sad because a lot of them are being released without any housing. so we are seeing a large number of homeless people coming in.
“Obviously we do a drop-in service when they’re coming in for breakfast and lunch and what we’re also noticing is that it seems to be affecting their mental health as well, because they’re not they have nowhere to go.
“Some people are saying it would be easier to go back into prison. They have food and a roof over their heads in there, but they are being released and they are coming back to the streets. We see the impact immediately
Thomas Holick, the Policy and Public Affairs Co-ordinator at the Wallich, believes that the impact of prisoners being released early will be felt widely in Wales. He said: “We are currently facing a homelessness crisis in Wales, with large numbers of people who have nowhere to live and are accessing emergency or temporary accommodation through local authorities.
“This is a bigger issue, but our main concern is that people who are released from prison early are more likely to have the same issue. We’ve known for a long time that people leaving prison without a place to live is a major driver of homelessness.
“It’s quite common, especially if they’ve lost their home when they go to prison or if the relationship with family members breaks down and it requires a lot of different agencies working together including the probation prisons first of all, but also the police, local authorities, the housing department and organizations like us try to pull together to ensure that people who are released have somewhere to go but it is clear that there are huge demands on the system.
“Too often people fall through the cracks, unfortunately. I would say the main driver of re-offending is the lack of stable accommodation, which we don’t want to see.”
