A FORMER military engineer will celebrate his birthday in the knowledge that he is safe and warm after the boss of Billericay Town Football Club gave him a new life off the streets.

Richard Young, 55, was saved from a life of rough sleeping by owner and manager of the club, Glenn Tamplin, when he gave him a job and a home at the club in Blunts Wall Road, mere weeks ahead of his 56th birthday.

Mr Young has been enjoying the early days of his new life and has been making progress to adjust to it.

He said: “It has been fantastic, a few days ago I was outside of One Stop in Billericay High Street. Glenn has spoken to me for a while, given some money or some food and then he said he wanted to give me a job and accommodation here.

“It only took me half a second to say yes. We were living underneath the foundations of the furniture shop in Radford Way.

“I have been doing this for a few years, so it was a no brainer to take this chance.”

Before Mr Young was forced into a life on the streets, he was an engineer in the Royal Airforce from 1977 to 1988.

He was in the third squadron which maintained the Harrier Jump Jets.

Mr Young said: “I was 17 years old, I did not know what I was doing and then the RAF took me in.

“I was a single man in the Air Force and was lucky enough to work on the Harrier Jets.

“I still keep in touch with my mates from there who have helped me out a lot, David Bishop and Alan Knights, they have helped me especially.”

After serving, Mr Young worked on the Docklands railway until 2016. However, after the failure of his marriage, Mr Young turned to alcohol which forced him to the streets of Southend.

Two months ago, he moved to Billericay to stay on the streets with his friend Ray, who was also taken in by Mr Tamplin.

Now he is in safe surroundings in Billericay, where he lived 25 years ago.

Mr Young has found a home behind the back rooms of the AGP Arena and now has been given work as a handyman around the ground.

He said: “It is a great community in the club. Everybody knows each other by their first name and that starts with Glenn. It is amazing what has happened here, I can remember coming here with my club, Leyton Orient when it was very different.”

Mr Tamplin expressed great pride in Mr Young for the progress that he has made, however his friend Ray has been finding it hard to adapt. Mr Tamplin said: “Richard is doing very well, we took him and Ray in, unfortunately Ray was caught using an illegal substance at the club. Therefore, we have put him into a rehabilitation centre in Southend for the next two weeks, then he can be back at the club. I am very impressed with Richard and he is cracking right on, enjoying being clean and we are proud of him as a club.”