Exeter man Martin McFetridge wanted for court order breach
Devon and Cornwall Police say wanted man Martin McFetridge has been located in Exeter.
‘Thank you for sharing our appeal’, a spokesman added.
Police appealed for the public’s help to locate a 32-year-old man this morning (Monday March 3).
Martin McFetridge, of no fixed abode in Exeter, was wanted by police after breaching court orders preventing him from going to specific locations.
He was described as a white male, around 5ft 3ins tall and of medium build. He has light brown hair and a beard.
If anyone sees him or knows of his whereabouts, please contact police on 999 quoting reference 50250014731.
A row has broken out over the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Exeter.
The city council says there are currently 11 people affected but one homelessness charity says the method being used to count those on the streets means the local authority has underestimated the scale of the issue.
The figures come from a count carried out on the night of the 11th to 12th November 2024.
But local charity St Petrock’s said their own analysis on the day after the count indicates the figure was approximately 24.
One local resident in Exeter said: “There is a significant number of rough sleepers. I’ve lived in Exeter for 20 years and it’s definitely been increasing over that time.
Another added: “We’ve got such a beautiful city and it’s blighted by sleeping bags near the Guildhall, outside the Cathedral. All our places of interest and beauty are marred.”
One person who has experienced sleeping rough in the city is Becca. She is now in night time accommodation and has said she believes this is thanks to the city’s “really good housing officer”.
She said: “I think she’s really good for our housing team in Exeter, she helps as much as she can. She walks around this street every day to look for homeless people so she tries her best.”
St Petrock’s said it believes that the extent of rough sleeping is consistently underestimated by the methodology used by Exeter City Council and this year the scale of under-reporting is so great that it has decided to publicly call on the council to change the methodology it uses.
Peter Stephenson, Chief Executive of St Petrock’s said: “The City Council has for many years opted for a physical count where teams scour the city and count the number of rough sleepers found on a given night.
“However, this way of estimating the number of rough sleepers is almost by definition an underestimate as in order to count, a rough sleeper must be observed either bedded down or about to bed down on the night. This sounds fine, but it means anyone sleeping rough who is not located by the team doesn’t get counted, and anyone not bedding down or about to bed down when they are seen doesn’t get counted either, even if they are known to be sleeping rough.
“It is well known that some people sleeping rough, particularly women, conceal themselves well for their personal safety, or stay up all night to keep safe. As those doing the count won’t see these people, or when they see them they won’t be bedded down, then they are not counted even though Council officers and charities supporting homeless people know they are sleeping rough.”
Mr Stephenson added “To be clear, St Petrock’s isn’t suggesting our colleagues at the City Council or anyone else is deliberately manipulating the figures. But the fact of the matter is that basing rough sleeper numbers on a physical count using the MHCLG [Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government] methodology consistently underestimates the actual level of rough sleeping in the city year after year.
