The Source NE

The Source NE

‘Lee wasn’t the sort of person who died on the streets’

Legacy of a young Geordie filmmaker

Brian Aitken's avatar
Brian Aitken
Oct 28, 2026

A young Geordie filmmaker decided to spend a week sleeping rough as part of a documentary he was making on Tyneside’s growing homeless problem.

But Lee Halpin bedded down in a derelict hostel one night and never woke again. He was just 26.

That was 13 years ago. It was a huge national story and it still pains his childhood friend Abu Ali, a corporate fina…

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