A 49-YEAR-OLD homeless man was found dead in Belfast city centre on Wednesday night - the third rough sleeper to die in the last four weeks.
The man was discovered in the doorway of a shop on Castle Place shortly before 6.30pm on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Ambulance Service said they received a report at 6.30pm that a man had been found unconscious. He said crews attended the scene but the man had already passed away.
It is understood that police are investigating the man's sudden death, although it is not thought to be suspicious.
A spokeswoman for Hope Outreach for the Homeless said they knew the dead man.
"He was a very quietly spoken and educated man," she said. "Our condolences go out to his family. It's terrible that he is the latest homeless person to die on the streets of our city centre."
Homeless group Amethyst Outreach described the man's death as a "nightmare"
"Writing this with a very heavy heart we have just been informed that another of our regular service users has died tonight on street this is a nightmare. I just don't know what else to say here this nightmare is never ending," the group wrote on its Facebook page.
One eyewitness, who saw the man's body shortly before ambulance crews came, said passers-by tried to help him.
"It's a very unsettling thing to be honest," he said. "The good thing is there were people there who were assisting him."
The man is the third homeless person to die in Belfast city centre in recent weeks.
Earlier this month William Coulter, known as Jimmy, was found in the doorway of a shop on Donegall Place.
Just days later a homeless man in his late thirties was found in the toilets of McDonalds, also on Donegall Place.
Last week a former homeless man was found dead at a flat on Donegall Street.
He was known to several homeless outreach organisations who work in Belfast city centre.
More than a week ago dozens of people attended a rally at Belfast City Hall to highlight the plight of the homeless.
People Before Profit councillor Gerry Carroll, who organised the rally, told protestors it was "tragic and indefensible that people can die on our streets".
An online petition urging that an empty building be opened to house homeless people is to be handed over to Belfast City Council this week.
