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Elderly, homeless expat in Spain helped by good-hearted Brits
| Published: | 11 Oct at 6 PM |
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A British expat couple living in Spain have rescued an elderly, homeless Briton who’s been wandering the streets for five years.
David Langshaw and his partner Rebecca Pattinson first became aware of the homeless British OAP when he arrived in their Spanish village. After talking with him and getting to know him, they became aware of the previous five years of his life, spent wandering around Spain and moving from village to village. Rebecca told local media he’s covered at least 25,000 miles over the period after he left the UK and gave up on his life as he’d lost his family.
According to Rebecca, Graham Nobbs hadn’t worked for 20 years after he gave up his job to look after his sick mother. After she’d passed away, he couldn’t cope any more, got in his car and finally arrived in Spain. After living and sleeping in his car and driving around for a while, he was forced to abandon the vehicle as the battery was dead and he couldn’t afford to buy a replacement. Ever since that point he’s been walking around the country and sleeping rough, ending up in the village of Albanchez.
A couple living in the village took pity on Graham, taking him to their home for a shower and a meal, and saying they’d set up a fundraising page for him. When David heard the story, he and his fiancé decided to begin helping the homeless Briton in the hope he’d get his life back. At first, Graham was very negative, but after a few days he’d begun to rediscover his faith in humanity and believe his worst days were behind him. David told reporters Graham is a very intelligent man who simply couldn’t cope and left the UK because he had no reason to stay.
Since David and Rebecca decided to take care of him, they’ve found him a place to stay with a retired nurse who’s working to help him get his life back in order. He hadn’t been able to claim his state pension as he had no bank account, but David told the press the process is now in hand but will take around three months to be organised. The next hurdle for the couple is to get him a British passport and raise enough funds to enable the 70-year old to furnish a small flat and get a positive start to his new life.
David Langshaw and his partner Rebecca Pattinson first became aware of the homeless British OAP when he arrived in their Spanish village. After talking with him and getting to know him, they became aware of the previous five years of his life, spent wandering around Spain and moving from village to village. Rebecca told local media he’s covered at least 25,000 miles over the period after he left the UK and gave up on his life as he’d lost his family.
According to Rebecca, Graham Nobbs hadn’t worked for 20 years after he gave up his job to look after his sick mother. After she’d passed away, he couldn’t cope any more, got in his car and finally arrived in Spain. After living and sleeping in his car and driving around for a while, he was forced to abandon the vehicle as the battery was dead and he couldn’t afford to buy a replacement. Ever since that point he’s been walking around the country and sleeping rough, ending up in the village of Albanchez.
A couple living in the village took pity on Graham, taking him to their home for a shower and a meal, and saying they’d set up a fundraising page for him. When David heard the story, he and his fiancé decided to begin helping the homeless Briton in the hope he’d get his life back. At first, Graham was very negative, but after a few days he’d begun to rediscover his faith in humanity and believe his worst days were behind him. David told reporters Graham is a very intelligent man who simply couldn’t cope and left the UK because he had no reason to stay.
Since David and Rebecca decided to take care of him, they’ve found him a place to stay with a retired nurse who’s working to help him get his life back in order. He hadn’t been able to claim his state pension as he had no bank account, but David told the press the process is now in hand but will take around three months to be organised. The next hurdle for the couple is to get him a British passport and raise enough funds to enable the 70-year old to furnish a small flat and get a positive start to his new life.
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