Homeless man with dementia set on fire 'by group of teenagers' in Northampton

'If his friend hadn't have spotted him, he would be dead'

The 49-year-old rough sleeper was bedded down for the night at the Wellingborough Road bus shelter next to Abington Park when his sleeping bag was reportedly set alight

A group of teenagers are being sought after by police after a homeless man was set on fire in Northampton.

The 49-year-old rough sleeper, believed to have early onset dementia, was bedded down in a bus shelter when they struck.

Bianca Todd, his niece-in-law, was reportedly driving past the shelter when she noticed a number of people standing near him. She got out of the car and saw flames rising from the bottom of his sleeping bag.

Ms Todd said that another rough sleeper told her the teenagers were responsible, although this has not been confirmed by police.

“I went to go and put it out but he was fast asleep, he didn't realise he was on fire," she told the Northampton Chronicle. "If his friend hadn't have spotted him, he would be dead."

She said she tried to confront the gang of five boys and a girl aged between around 14 and 16.

She said her uncle did not receive any burns due to the number of layers he was wearing and was recovering well at a friend's house.

A police spokeswoman confirmed officers were looking into the incident.

“We were called at around 9.30pm yesterday to Wellingborough Road, Northampton to reports of a sleeping bag being set alight," she said. “We’re investigating and if anyone has any info they should call us on 101.”

Earlier this year, official statistics revealed that rough sleeping in England had increased for a seventh consecutive year – up 169 per cent since 2010 when the coalition government came to power.

The number of beds in homeless shelters has meanwhile plummeted, with bed space for single homeless people in England having dropped by almost a fifth since 2010.