The body of a homeless man was left lying in the street for three and a half hours before anyone noticed he had died.
Mark Mummery, 45, was found dead on the pavement of a street in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, at around 1.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.
It is believed he died as early as 10am that day as the result of a suspected drug overdose as temperatures dropped to as low as 5C.
Dozens of people walked past his lifeless body without taking any notice until a woman eventually stopped and called emergency services, reports GrimsbyLive .
Mark was a well-known figure among the local homeless community - but his life had spiralled out of control in recent years due to his dependency on drink and drugs.
A local resident who came across the scene a couple of minutes later said that the woman told them people had just been walking past without helping.
They said: "I was in between jobs in work and I was walking down Roberts Street when I saw the man's body. Nobody seemed to be taking any notice of him at all, even though there was clearly something wrong, he was just lying there lifeless.
"I have seen the man around the area and I know that he has problems with drugs and drink, but that shouldn't matter at all, he is a human and he deserved some compassion, rather than just being ignored."
Another local resident said: "It is so tragic that someone has died. They are someone’s son or brother or a dad and at this time of year."
Emergency services now believe Mr Mummery had died three hours before they were alerted, according to reports.
A nearby business owner said: "It is disgusting that he was seen a lot earlier on before someone had the decency to phone 999."
Mr Mummery had fallen into a very dark place but remained a popular figure with other homeless people.
One said: "When we first got to know Mark he was an alright guy, and we spent a lot of time with him when he was in hospital.
"Sadly though, drink and drugs got the better of him and he fell into the grips of addiction and developed a little bit of a nasty streak.
"His attitude just seemed to change for the worse and it caused a lot of friction among people.
"He had a place of his own at one point, but he became a totally different guy to the one that we knew, drugs and drink literally destroyed him.
"Regardless of what may have gone on though, it is still very sad to hear of his passing, especially being found dead in a street like that, and I just thank god that someone eventually stopped and stayed with him."
An ambulance was not called for the man until 1.15pm on Wednesday, which arrived on the scene within 15 minutes, but by that point he had already passed away.
It has been claims that Mark was found with needles in his pocket.
A post-mortem examination of his body is due to take place on Monday.
Humberside Police said that it is still investigating the circumstances surrounding his death which is not being treated as suspicious.