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Man lives in rubbish dump for 10 years
Staff at a rubbish dump in Berlin have discovered a man who has been
living there for 10 years.
The man, named only as Harald H, was 41 when he dug out his hideaway.
It was 3ft high and contained a mattress, shelves and a cupboard, the
Berliner Zeitung newspaper reports.
Harald H reportedly spent most of the day sleeping, then set out at night
to search the dump for food, which he warmed over candles. It’s thought he
got water from a tank that fed the staff showers
Lutz Paetzold, who is in charge of the site, told the paper: “In all these
years, we never noticed him.”
Harald H was only found because he set off some fireworks to attract
attention to himself.
Mr Paetzold said the hideaway was near a recently established truck route
and he probably decided to give up his home because he felt disturbed by
the noise.
Witnesses say Harald H emerged looking somewhat pale but appeared to be in
good health.
Social services authorities are now looking after him. The hole in which
he had been living has already been filled with rubbish.
Story filed: 11:59 Tuesday 22nd July 2003
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