A man who was pushed into homelessness by alcohol addiction said he was lucky to be able to turn his life around.

Tony Singh came to Glasgow nearly five years ago from London, looking for help after he turned to drinking following his wife's death.

As a part of our ongoing investigation into alcohol and the justice system, he agreed to share his experience.

At his most vulnerable, he slept rough in the city centre for a week.

He said: "I never thought I would be in that position. I hit rock bottom.

"And there was no way I could sleep on the streets sober. 

"I was there, not having eaten in two days and going through withdrawal.

"I was thinking 'How the hell am I going to drink?'. That was number one."

"I thought about crime. 

"I would think about maybe going into a huge supermarket, putting a bottle down my jacket or down my pants, but I never did. I was very lucky that I had support from my family.

"A lot of people don't have that."

The 40-year-old's life changed drastically when he met a kind-hearted woman.

He said: "She was from the Simon Community, they're a wonderful charity helping people with addiction.

"She took me to Shelter Scotland who got me a lawyer who helped to get me into the St Enoch Hotel.

"The worst thing about it was that it was just full of drug addicts and alcoholics.

"I was told by the volunteers 'Whatever you do, just try not to drink'. They referred me to Alcoholics Anonymous.

"Those meetings saved my life.

"I was resorting to alcohol because of depression and trauma. Now, I am in a much better place, with a job and a home."

The Knightswood resident said his recovery journey is the hardest thing he has ever done.

He added: "I used to drink hard liquor and I would drink half a bottle straight just to function normally.

"Coming off alcohol is not a nice feeling. It's dangerous as well, you have to do it slowly.

"I had the shakes, sweats, I couldn't eat or sleep, I had all these symptoms, that was the toughest part.

"I'm one of the few who has actually gone through the system and it worked."

Thanks to several helping hands, he is now in recovery and encourages others going through similar issues to reach out for help.

He said: " I think there's plenty of help, I truly believe that."

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