Eggs thrown at homeless man

HEARTLESS yobs have attacked an Exmouth epilepsy sufferer who has been sleeping rough in a shelter on the town's seafront for almost a year.Nick Condliffe, 38, (pictured with his fiancee Andrea Clarke in November) says he was the victim of a drive-by attack when a dead chicken and dozens of eggs were hurled at him. The attack took place at around 9.30pm on Monday, he said.Sleeping bags, donated by the public, and a rucksack, which he stores at the shelter on the Esplanade, have also recently been stolen and were later found discarded around the town.Said Nick: "99 per cent of the people in Exmouth have been fantastic, but a few think it's okay to attack me."Whoever it was threw a dead chicken at me. Where do you get a dead chicken?"I have had to throw away my sleeping bag because it was covered in eggs."These items have been donated to me; I can't afford to throw them away."The former Halfords sales manager, who is expecting a baby with fiancee Andrea, 39, a resident at Exmouth's St Andrews House, says the frequency of attacks have increased since he was made homeless, adding that he is lucky to have survived the cold winter this far.Mr Condliffe became homeless in January, 2007, after he lost his job, turned to drink, and his home was repossessed. He is currently on the council's housing waiting list, but is not considered a priority case by East Devon District Council.He said: "With the cold weather, I really didn't think I would see 2008. I thought I would be dead by now. For the most part, people in the town have been great to me. People have given me cash and food and almost everything I am wearing has been donated to me. On Christmas Day I was given three Christmas dinners."I am the only homeless person in the town and it's a shame that a few people have made me a target for abuse for their amusement.