A VIGIL will take place so the community can say farewell to a homeless man who died after a serious assault in Pavilion Gardens.

Andrew O’Connell, 54, was sleeping rough when he was attacked at about 11.55pm last Tuesday.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital but later died from his injuries.

Jim Deans, founder of Sussex Homeless Support, has organised a vigil for this Sunday at the request of Mr O’Connell’s friends.

His family will be arranging his funeral in a private service. They said he was a “kind, intelligent man with a free spirit who loved to travel”.

Mr Deans said: “Andrew came to my charity every Sunday, but last Sunday was the first time he wasn’t there.

“His friends didn’t know what happened to Andrew because they don’t have money to buy a newspaper.

“It was very difficult for me to tell them what happened to their good friend.

“Because his friends came in separately, I had to repeat the story several times.

“Andrew’s been sleeping rough for three years. He didn’t take drugs or get into trouble, he was a really lovely guy.

“Whenever he and his friends saved enough money they would go a walk on the seafront and buy a pint of beer to enjoy themselves.

“Andrew was never a trouble-maker.

“His friends had wanted a vigil for Andrew so this is an opportunity for everyone to say goodbye to him.”

Mr Deans has requested attendants not to bring flowers but items that would be suitable for rough sleepers.

He added the vigil will also highlight the problem of a lack of facilities for the homeless.

He said: “This is a chance for us to reflect on the homeless situation in Brighton.

“There are a lack of facilities and lack of funding to help the homeless.

“We just had a week of horrendous weather and we handed out more than 60 sleeping bags to the homeless. We have very little support from the council. If we have storms, the council should at least re-open the Brighton Centre or build a marquee along the seafront.

“It is a fact that if you sleep rough for one year, it takes five years away from your life expectancy. Two weeks ago, during the heatwave, we handed out 600 water bottles because there is a lack of drinking fountains.

“Local charities and volunteers have worked so hard to help the homeless but we need more support and funding from the council.”

The vigil will take place at 12.50pm. The service will be led by Andrew Ramage from Metropolitan Church, Brighton.