Homeless man doused with lighter fluid in Coventry park

West Midlands Police said the man was sleeping in the Swanswell Park and Pool area on Saturday night

Two men poured lighter fluid over the hands of a homeless man and set him alight in an "extraordinarily appalling" attack.

The man was sleeping when it happened in the Swanswell Park & Pool area of Coventry, West Midlands Police said.

He suffered severe burns in the attack, which took place sometime between 22:00 GMT on Saturday and the early hours of Sunday.

The force has urged anyone with information to come forward.

Homeless 'victims'

Mike Fowler, chief executive of homelessness charity Coventry Cyrenians, said: "I think it is extraordinarily appalling.

"We are talking about people who are often victims of many other things which have led to them being homeless.

"It is bad enough being on the streets without being victims of disgusting things like this.

"I just can't fathom why anyone would want to do that, or what they expect to achieve as a result of it."

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Nobby Clarke, who runs Coventry's emergency winter shelter, said: "It is almost difficult to find appropriate words to say how you feel about this kind of stuff.

"Rough sleepers, it is not uncommon for them to be attacked wherever they are, but this is a step beyond that, really."

Coventry City Councillor Naeem Akhtar, ward member for St Michael's, which covers the park, said: "It is disgusting

"Hopefully the police will be able to arrest the people who did this to this man."

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