WAITING passengers are unable to shelter from storms because a tramp has set up home in an Atherton bus stop.

Bedraggled Brian Jeffries has only lived in the town for a few weeks but already he is one of its best known residents.

The 48-year-old Hindley man is a familiar sight about town.

Usually he is asleep on a bench in the Flapper Fold Lane bus shelter snuggled between the gents' and ladies' lavatories.

He might be taking up bus users' space but nobody seems to mind and Greater Manchester Transport Executive have confirmed they have not received any complaints.

Come rain, hail, snow or blow the itinerant Mr Jeffries can be found wearing several layers of clothing and completely covered by an old blanket on the narrow wooden shelter bench facing Atherton's main car park.

He's a familiar sight to bus passengers waiting for the Hag Fold service.

Anne Pharaoh, who moved to Atherton from Stevenage and was waiting for a bus at the stop just 15 yards off Atherton's main street, told our reporter: "It's a shame really, you've got to feel sorry for him. He's been here for weeks, all through the bad weather and he's been covered up like that most of the time.

"He doesn't beg. I suppose the only harm he does is prevent people from sitting in the part of the shelter he has made his home."

We decided to ask Mr Jeffries about his lifestyle. He was reluctant to say much but admitted to having been living rough around Atherton for two years.

Bearded, long-haired Mr Jeffries said he originated from Hindley and related how sometimes life in his domain wasn't all that sheltered. Resting his head on a makeshift pillow rolled-up in a white plastic bag, and with a brick wall as his bedhead, Mr Jeffries said: "I've been stoned by kids and had bricks thrown at me. It was bloody freezing when it snowed." Then he snuggled back beneath the covers surrounded by litter and empty plastic bottles, spent matches and the odd copper coin thrown his way.

A spokesman for Wigan MBC, the authority which owns the bus shelter which is an integral park of a public convenience block, said: "Mr Jeffries is a free citizen and he chooses to live this way. We understand he was staying at a Salvation Army hostel in Bolton but discharged himself. He was assessed in December by our mental health team and found to be fine. We have a file on him and along with local police we are keeping an eye on the situation."