Former homeless man nominated for BBC award

A man from Bridlington who has experienced homelessness has been nominated for a BBC award for his photography.

By 2016, Kev Oldfield, 62, originally from Halifax, had been rough sleeping for 5 years and had been in and out of prison several times.

Mr Oldfield started taking photos in 2019 and then went on to post them into the Facebook group Beautiful Bridlington. They regularly get hundreds of interactions.

He is one of four finalists in the ‘Great Neighbour’ category of the BBC Radio Humberside Make a Difference Awards. The winner will be announced in Scunthorpe on 17 September.

As well as being homeless, Mr Oldfield had also been to prison nine times, stepping out for the last time in August 1993.

He said: “I’m not proud of what I did. It taught me a valuable lesson – not to do it again. I realised there was more to life”

Mr Oldfield was 7-years-old when he was sent to a children’s home where he admits he “got into the wrong crowd”.

He described homelessness as “a choice”.

“I did it because I liked it. I’m an outdoor person, sometimes being inside, it gets too much, because your walls start closing in on you,” he added.

On 4 November 2016, he walking past the Emmanuel Church in Bridlington and, on the spur of the moment, decided to go inside.

“They’ve been a great help to me, they’ve changed my life around,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of people to thank and they know who they are.”

Mr Oldfield discovered he had a talent for photography in 2019 when he captured a fisherman at sunrise on Bridlington seafront.

He said: “I took it and then went to the shop, got it printed and framed, and then gave it to him – it’s in his hallway so when he goes out his Mrs knows where he is.”

Samantha Briggs, who nominated Mr Oldfield for the BBC Radio Humberside Make a Difference because his photographs “connect everybody”.

She said: “Everyday when I go on Facebook, I see these gorgeous pictures of the beautiful town of Bridlington.

“I’s brilliant how it just connects everybody who either lives here or has moved away,”

Reflecting on being named a finalist in the BBC Make A Difference Awards, Mr Oldfield said: “It’s blown my head, getting recognised and it makes it worthwhile getting up in the morning.

“It’s not just for me. It’s for every homeless man.”

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