HE was once earning £600 a week and was responsible for supervising 12 people. He had a wife and a daughter, a car and a home.

Now Brian Jones is sleeping rough on the streets of Worcester. The company he worked for went bust, he is now divorced, has lost all contact with his child and was forced out of his house because he couldn't afford the mortgage.

At the age of 28 Mr Jones has gone from having everything to having very little.

Now he has spoken to the Worcester News in an effort to show how the same thing could happen to anyone.

He said: "I firmly believe that everyone is just two pay cheques away from being homeless and ending up like me.

"I had it all. From the age of 21, I was earning good money as a senior engineer and I also had

a family."

"But then last October I lost my job. I quickly went from having a purpose in my life to wandering around the streets and just surviving. As a result my wife is now my ex and I haven't seen my daughter in a year.

"Members of the public have an image of homelessness and it is usually associated with drink and drugs. From my own experiences of people on the streets, only 10 per cent fit this stereotype.

"We don't choose to leave our houses and live like this, it just happens."

But if the decline is rapid, the climb back up is a slow, agonising process.

With no forwarding address people like Mr Jones find it difficult to find work. Even when he had a stint in a hostel and applied for any job going, he said people were reluctant to give him a go.

His lack of a home has also stopped him seeing his five-year-old daughter since December 6 last year.

In a choked voice, he added: "I don't want to even start thinking about the Christmases I've had in the past with my girl. I just can't go there.

"Now, because of my situation, I cannot even get a supervisory visit.

"I never expected to be here and neither did the other people I know. Most of us are doing all we can to find work and a home."

Speaking of the Maggs Day Centre, he added: "I take my hat off to them for all they do. Everyone is so friendly and they do all they can.I am also grateful to the Worcester News for running this appeal. The Maggs night shelter makes a big difference to a lot of lives and the longer it can stay open the better.

"I would ask readers not to judge us, but to help us."