London, May 16: The writer Jeremy Sandford, whose groundbreaking 1967 TV play "Cathy come home" cast a searching spotlight on the problems of the homeless and led to the creation of the charity shelter, has died at the age of 72. Sandford died on May 12, his family announced today. No cause of death was given. "Cathy come home," directed by Ken Loach, told the story of an impoverished couple who become homeless. The social workers they meet are shown as unfeeling and unhelpful, and in the final harrowing scene, they remove the children from their distraught mother. The film sparked a major debate about homelessness and some local authorities discontinued their policy of separating destitute families. The homeless charity shelter was founded soon afterward. To apologize for showing Cathy, the BBC refused to do so, repeating the play two months later. Sandford`s 1971 play, "Edna, the inebriate woman," a companion piece to "Cathy come home," followed the progress of a vagrant through the hostels of London.

The son of a printer, Sandford was educated at prestigious Eton college and at Oxford university, then began writing radio plays; one of the first was "Dreaming bandsmen" (1956), which drew on his experience as an army bandsman during national service.

During the 1950s and early `60s, Sandford made many short documentaries for British Broadcasting Corp. Radio, including one that looked at the overworked, poorly paid staff at London`s swanky Savoy hotel.

Bureau Report