FOUR days living rough on the streets of London saw Nick Molony, Reverend from All Saints Church in Marlow, Bucks, reduced to stealing food off other people's plates.

His bed was a seat in an airport lounge or bus station and one night he spent sheltering in a police station for his own safety.

The experience taught him to appreciate the dignity among the homeless community and the humility of the people who care for them.

He said: "It was unforgettable in so many ways. You experience the highs and the lows of being on your own."

The expedition got off to a shaky start as the bus which was meant to drop Rev Molony at Heathrow for the start of his walk only took him as far as Uxbridge.

Due to a last minute route change he found himself stranded with no money in an unexpected location and forced to walk three hours to his starting point.

The 63-year-old grandfather and dad-of-four, said: "I was hopping mad. I asked the men what I was supposed to do with no money. I had an Oyster card on me for use in an emergency but I didn't want to use it. I thought if I take the easy option now, I will be cutting corners all the way through so I ended up walking.

"I was so hungry on the first day. I had espied half a bacon toastie someone had left on their plate in this cafe. I wanted to get to it be-fore some-one cleared it away."

Rev Molony also had half a cheese and chutney roll, left over by a customer, and a cup of tea and four biscuits from a homeless shelter. That was all he ate on Monday and Tuesday.

At Heathrow he spent time talking to the other people sleeping rough in the airport.

He said: "They were very clean and tidy. Some of them probably did casual work, but because of depression they had withdrawn even more from society. There was a tannoy that woke us up in the morning and told us to go and clean ourselves up. It was warm and safe and a very gentle introduction to what was to come."

Rev Molony, who was being tracked by a Global Positioning System (GPS) for a website set up for the trek, was a trainee town planner before he was ordained and has always had a good sense of direction.

He didn't get lost on his way into London, although he did go off the GPS radar after his second night when he went behind a pavilion to go to toilet, which worried his colleagues. He was picked up on radar the next morning.

He said: "It was getting late and I was worried about where I was going to sleep.

"I came across this big house of a couple I knew very well. The lights were on and I could imagine them having a scotch and watching the end of the news. I had to walk on quickly.

"I saw a girl rifling through one of the clothes recycling bins. I wanted to ask her if she knew of anywhere to sleep so I quickened my pace, but she ran off. By this time I could understand exactly where she was coming from."

One night he was forced to bed down on a cardboard box, huddled up against an office air vent, with some drunks nearby.

He was also kicked out of Victoria Station and had to spend the early hours in a police station before he was allowed into a homeless shelter for breakfast.

He said: "It made me feel worse when I found that I was taking the resources of people who were genuinely homeless. I knew that for me, the hunger and the cold would come to an end. I was trying to imagine what it must be like for these people. I am full of admiration for them and will see them differently now."

Rev Molony met several immigrants from Eastern Europe who had come to London in search of a better life, but found it difficult to get work. He was told a few of the homeless were millionaires. One man told him: "We probably made one wrong call in our lives and we are paying for it for the rest of our lives."

He added: "I can identify with that.

"It taught me to spend more time with people and not get hijacked with trivia."