14 DAY TRIAL // A Czech homeless man, who sleeps every night in a pile of hot ash and regularly burns his belongings to refresh his unusual mattress, is now considered to be Europe’s dirtiest man alive.
Ludvik Dolezal used to be a normal man, with a house and a job, but one day he decided to quit his job and lost everything. He became homeless and currently lives in an abandoned hovel, according to Daily Mail.
He now burns whatever he finds to create a comfortable “bed” made of ash, and he also uses fire and the pile of ashes to protect himself from the freezing cold of the Czech winter.
“One day, I simply decided to quit my job, that was years ago. Since then, I’ve been staying here with the fire,” he explains.
Moreover, the 58-year-old vagabond, who lives in Novy Bydzov, the Czech Republic, is reluctant to have a bath, as he suffers from a rare psychological disorder which means he is absolutely fascinated with ashes and fire. The man even burned his mattress, boots and duvet just to be sure he had enough ash to comfortably sleep in.
“I lie down with hot ash in my clothes and cover myself to keep warm. I look like hell. I had mattresses, but burnt everything. People help and bring old tyres to burn,” Dolezal says.
He also explains that he keeps the fire going all day, and around 7:30 p.m. he crawls into the ashes and goes to sleep. His clothes are all dyed black from the smoke, and his grey beard and hair are also blackened by soot. His unusual fascination with fire made him famous among locals, who know him as Ludva.
Although he wears nothing more than a fleece pullover, he is never far from fire, so his weird obsession also brings him benefits.
“I mostly bur wood from bushes that grow around. But it has to be dry to glow. When I don't have enough of it I grab an axe and cut boards from surrounding sheds. I burn even rubber, that's not a problem,” he adds.
Due to the fact that he has always exposed himself to heavy smoke, the man has constant breathing problems, and, as if that wasn't dangerous enough, he is also a smoker and finishes one packet a day.
Ludvik receives £81 ($136 or €98) a month in benefits from the Czech government, but not the whole amount at once, as officials fear he could burn that too.