Inquiry launched after homeless man found dead in Wisbech hotel room
An inquiry is under-way after the body of a homeless man was found in a hotel room where he had been housed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staff at the White Lion Hotel in Wisbech reportedly found the body of Lithuanian-born Saulius Uzdavinys when they went to carry out their weekly clean of his room on Wednesday (8). It is believed he could have been dead for up to four days before the discovery.
Mr Uzdavinys was one of a number of homeless people moved to the hotel when Fenland’s night shelter was forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Government provided funding to local authorities to help put a roof over the heads of homeless people to help keep them safe and stop the spread of the virus.
A spokesman for Fenland District Council said: “We were very saddened to hear of this death and we send our condolences to the family of those who are bereaved.
“At the moment we do not know the full circumstances surrounding this sad event and we are actively seeking more information. This death is particularly sad as we were supporting the individual concerned and it was thought that he had been making good progress.
“All of our clients have been risk assessed and we interact with each of our clients based on their individual risk assessment. Once we have more information, we are committed to reflecting on this sad situation to ensure we are supporting our clients to the best of our abilities.”
Councillor Sam Hoy, Fenland Council’s portfolio holder for housing, said: “Her sympathies were with Mr Uzdavinys’ family but added that until the full circumstances surrounding his death were known it was difficult to comment further.”
She has asked officers for a full report and said early indications were Mr Uzdavinys had been doing well and was getting his life back on track with the help of support workers.
She said: “He was looking like a true success story. Since moving to the night shelter he had been engaging well with officers, which makes his death even more sad.”
