Tributes have been paid to a homeless man who has died on the streets of Belfast just days before Christmas.
Norman McKeown, believed to be in his 60s, was found dead at Custom House Square on Wednesday morning.
A post-mortem is due to take place to establish the cause, however his death is not being treated as suspicious.
“Norman was a guest at our centre. He was a very intelligent man and a bit of a character. He was always himself,” Liz Rocks, of Belfast Homeless Services, said.
“He was well-liked and will be missed by people here at the centre, there is such a sadness over the whole place today because of it.”
Online tributes were also paid, with one woman describing him as “like a daddy” to the homeless people in Belfast.
Another added: “So sad to hear about the loss of another dear friend.”
Mr McKeown’s death is believed to be the third such incident in seven weeks.
The Museum of Homelessness estimates that there were 211 deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024.
North Belfast councillor Paul McCusker said that news of the man’s death had “sent more fear” through Belfast’s homeless community as the winter months approach.
“The news of another death on the streets of Belfast this morning of a man who is well known to homeless services has sent more fear within the homeless community, horrible news for any family to have to receive, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,” he said.
“Homelessness has gone beyond crisis with more individuals that have no other option but to sleep on our streets and in 2025 we should have no one that has to call the streets their home, outreach teams struggle every day and night to keep those on the streets safe and we have been calling on the NIHE and DFC to urgently put in emergency measures to ensure there is enough access to accommodation every night in Belfast.”
“We are losing too many people on our streets, and we can no longer sit back and allow this to continue.”