Cheryl’s estranged brother Andrew Tweedy is seen ‘begging for money and living in a tent outside a supermarket’

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Cheryl Cole’s brother, who is separated from the family, has been seen living in a tent near a Morrisons supermarket and drinking in the area outside the store.

Andrew Tweedy was spotted sitting near the entrance of a shop in Jarrow, South Tyneside, early in the morning, and was drinking cider from cans.

The 45-year-old, recently in court for public intoxication, stated he’s been to rehab three times and doesn’t plan to return.

‘I am one of those people that take one step forward and ten steps back. Every time.’

A man has been living in a tent behind the supermarket since he became homeless in 2021.

Cheryl, the singer, has repeatedly tried to help her brother, who she grew up with in Byker, Newcastle. She once paid £20,000 to send him to a rehabilitation center.

Last month, he admitted to being drunk and causing a disturbance outside the same Morrisons store on February 25th when he appeared in court.

Officers responded to a disturbance after reports that a man was yelling and using abusive language towards customers. When police arrived, he became confrontational, telling them to ‘go away’ and challenging them with, ‘What are you going to do?’

The court learned this was the man’s 44th conviction, stemming from 115 crimes, including armed robbery. He previously received a six-year prison sentence for the robbery.

He appeared in court and explained he was seeking assistance and had returned to live with his family in Heaton, Newcastle.

He explained that he’s working on improving his life and resolving his issues, and while it’s a journey, he’s only just begun.

Tweedy was handed a six-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £113.

However, only a few weeks later, he was seen living in a tent and drinking inexpensive cans of strong cider, costing just £1.29 each.

When asked for comment, Tweedy declined to speak, but did mention he’d been sleeping outdoors near the Morrisons store for quite some time.

In a 2021 interview with The Sun, Cheryl’s brother, who was struggling at the time, suggested she likely didn’t know he was experiencing homelessness.

Andrew explained that he’s been struggling immensely, having been forced to beg for over three months. He shared that the experience has been deeply upsetting and heartbreaking for him.

‘I’ve got so much f***ing pride. With the family I’ve got, I shouldn’t be here. It’s horrible.

I haven’t heard from anyone. Even though Cheryl isn’t helping, she’s still family, and I don’t hold it against her. She likely doesn’t even realize how bad things are for me. Honestly, I’ve never felt so low.

A newspaper reported finding Andrew, visibly upset, asleep in a tent in northern England. The tent, which he shared with another homeless man, was littered with urine bottles and empty beer cans, serving as his temporary home.

Andrew, a father, shared that he became homeless after his relationship ended earlier in the year.

He committed his first robbery at the age of 13. In 2005, he received a four-year sentence for violently robbing a teenager, but he fled before reporting to serve his time and remained a fugitive for five weeks.

In 1996, he was sent to a youth detention center after stabbing two students during a street fight. He spent three years incarcerated and was then released on parole.

I was absolutely devastated when I heard about it again in 2011. Six years! They sent him back to jail, and it turned out he’d been involved in a robbery… at a Post Office, of all places. It just didn’t seem to fit with the person I thought I knew, but honestly, even that didn’t change how I felt.

According to a local officer, they couldn’t legally remove Andrew from his campsite because the land belongs to the city council. He was waiting to be placed in temporary housing.

Growing up on a Newcastle estate heavily affected by heroin, he started using glue as a young person and quickly became addicted.

Cheryl from Girls Aloud has always kept private any sadness she felt about her relationship with Andrew, but he has often publicly thanked her for her unwavering support.

In a 2008 interview with the Sunday Mirror, while in jail, he admitted he was hurting Cheryl but felt unable to change. He said she wanted to help him, but he believed he’d gone too far and wasn’t strong enough to get better.

It really hurts me to know I’m upsetting my sister. I even told her she should be embarrassed by my actions, but she insists she loves me and won’t stop trying to support me.

People said she was deeply worried about her brother, to the point where it caused her significant distress. She secretly visited him in jail while he was serving a sentence for a violent robbery.

Andrew said she arrived by herself. He was struck by how sad and exhausted she seemed, a stark contrast to her usual vibrant TV appearances and stage performances. Seeing her so upset really affected him.

Reports from that time said Cheryl visited her brother in prison, held his hand, and pleaded with him to accept financial help from her and her then-husband, Ashley Cole, to cover the costs of rehab.

The man from Newcastle turned down the offer, even though he knew she had always supported him. He didn’t want to accept her help because he was afraid of disappointing her.

He openly admitted his mistakes and, in 2008, expressed hope for a better future, wanting to eventually make amends to Cheryl for her generosity.

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2026-04-07 13:41