'If I didn't pick up the phone I'd still be on a warpath'

BOXING LEGEND RICKY VISITS BASE OF HOMELESS CHARITY HELPING TEENAGERS

- JOSEPH TIMAN

BRITISH boxing champion Ricky Hatton says people need to be more ‘open-minded’ towards homelessness after visiting a charity’s call centre.

The retired fighter, from Hyde, has survived suicide attempts, drug addiction and an ugly fallout with his family.

He fell out with parents Carol and Ray Hatton over money resulting in a punch-up with his dad in a car park in 2009. Nine years later, after addressing his own mental health issues, he made up with them.

But he says this experience of hitting rock bottom helps him sympathise with the young people coming through the doors of Centrepoint in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Hatton visited the Oldham Street base of the charity which helps teenagers to 25-year-olds facing homelessness on Tuesday.