Thousands of motorists whizz past a busy Canterbury city centre roundabout every day without giving it a second glance.

But amid the thick foliage is a secret home created by a notorious drug addict and alcoholic.

Samuel Capes-Evans has built a shelter behind the trees in the centre of the St Peter's Roundabout next to the tannery development.

The 38-year-old has furnished it with a mattress and duvet, carpeting and a bedside cabinet upon which he keeps rolling tobacco.

He said he has been living on the roundabout for a month and came to the attention of the authorities on Friday night when firefighters were twice called out.

Capes-Evans had alarmed passing motorists because he had been burning clothing to use as a light.

When asked, he said he had built the shelter with rubbish he had found.

"I found this stuff in bins," he said. "I was burning rubbish so I could see what I was doing at night. I don't want people to know I'm here because I got beaten up in the High Street a few months ago."

Pressed further about his unusual home, Capes-Evans became angry and aggressive, swearing at newsmen and telling them to leave him alone.

Last year, the violent drunk - who appears to have only two or three teeth left in his upper gums - spoke with his girlfriend about their heroin addictions.

He admitted stealing to fund his addiction and said it did not bother him that he was doing anything wrong.

Capes-Evans was jailed in 2011 for throwing a woman to the ground and striking her with a piece of metal in a row about scoring drugs.

The court that sentenced him heard he was abusive to police officers and had also been stealing meat and alcohol.

Another time, he was jailed for 15 months after robbing a nurse of her handbag containing £100. He also has convictions for threatening behaviour and stealing charity collection boxes.

But Capes-Evans is not alone in creating a makeshift house in Canterbury.

Last month, it was revealed that a pair of homeless people had set up home in a shipping container on a farm off Nackington Road.

They had equipped it with cabinets, beds and a jigsaw puzzle featuring a photograph of a dog.

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