Homeless campaigner offers 'heartfelt thanks' to city and hilarious moment he crosses Inverness' bouncy bridge

A campaigner who has been rough sleeping in Inverness to raise awareness of addiction and homelessness has given a 'heartfelt thanks' to everyone who has welcomed him to the city.

Richie Roncero (39) is the founder of Steps to Hope, a charity which supports people in addiction. He is spending eight weeks sleeping rough in eight cities around the UK, and just spent the last seven days in the capital of the Highlands. He spent his time sleeping in the city centre, and keeping warm in McDonald's and Wetherspoons through the day.

He is also using the campaign to fundraise for Hope House, which will be a recovery house in Edinburgh, with over £170,000 being raised so far.

In a social media post, he said: "I would just like to say a heartfelt thank you to Inverness for welcoming me into your city. I have never experienced anything like it.

"Thank u all so so much for everything...we have knocked this out the park! What a campaign!"

However, Richie was not a fan of Inverness' 'bouncy bridge' and managed to capture the hilarious moment he walked across it whilst filming a social media video.

Richie has now gone to Dundee to spend his last week on the streets where he will turn 40 years old, before returning to Edinburgh.

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