Keith Jones is comfortable. He spends his days, when he isn't doing a painting, construction or landscaping job, living simply. He swims, listens to his radio, exercises, sews and tries to stay out of trouble.

But the 36-year-old is homeless and has been living in a bunker next to Horseshoe Bay for about three years.

However, what some may find even more fascinating or frustrating about Mr. Jones is that he chooses to be there.

"They want to talk about going to Salvation Army but I don't like it round there," he said.

"I would rather be down here. This is the place I want to be when I die," he said of the old war storage unit.

"I figure I can survive by myself. I wouldn't want an apartment anyway. It's too much money."

And he claimed he is resting his head because there is trouble everywhere in Bermuda with drinking, violence and smoking.

For at least the past two years, the Parks Department has been trying to move Mr. Jones from the Butt's Beach bunker. During one clearing they removed an entire truck-load of personal items Mr. Jones had collected. However, Mr. Jones simply returns and he has no intentions of leaving.

"They said nobody is supposed to be here but they couldn't give me a reason why," he said.

"The only reason to get me out of here is to knock it down. They are not going to knock it down. I ain't troubling anybody."

To him, life seems no different than anyone else's and he even said that, like him, other people sometimes collect uneaten food from the garbage.

He takes his clothes to the laundromat, buys cooked meals from the store and takes showers at the Horseshoe Bay Beach facilities.

And while his life is simple, Mr. Jones said he has all he needs.

"A house and car don't make no difference to me. I can't take it with me when I die. Everybody knows that. I stay right where I am all day. I listen to my radio and then go to work when I feel like it.

"If you don't have bills to pay you don't have to go to work."

When asked why he went to live there he said: "I felt like it because it's close to the beach."

For his survival, he looks on the beach to see what beach-goers have left behind while he does sometimes get clothes from Hands of Love Mission.

One of his most prized finds was a pair of swimming trunks he recovered last week. He used them to revamp an old shirt.

"I do sewing. You won't find a shirt like this in the store," he said modeling the pocket from the trunks which he had sewn onto the front of the shirt. He said he went to his cousin's house for the thread. He will use the new pocket to store his lighter when he returns to work.

But while Mr. Jones maintains that he is not causing anyone harm, one observer has been complaining to officials for some time.

Dennis Carter said: "I kept calling the Park Rangers and kept getting an answering machine. I left a message about two months ago, but nothing has been done.

"As far as I'm concerned the Park Rangers are not doing their jobs. They are worried about illegal tents but why are they letting this guy sleep here? I was shocked when I went down there."

And he noted that tourists may go in search of the historic building which is overgrown with trees.

Parks Officer Craig Burt said Mr. Jones has been arrested before in connection with thefts from tourists.

But, Mr. Jones denied that he was responsible and that while he was arrested, the authorities could not prove his guilt.

"I've worked around tourists. I've worked in both those hotels (Southampton Princess and Sonesta Beach). Why am I going to steal from tourists?

"Tourists are nice. One gave me $20 and lots of food. He was talking about the war. He taught me a lot of stuff."

Mr. Burt said another of the concerns they have had is that some of the items that have been found in his bunker include women's underwear and baby items.

But, Mr. Jones said: "I can't fit into a woman's underpants. I would wear a woman's top because some women's clothes are better than men's. I would cut them up and sew them."

And in response to the claim that he can get feisty sometimes he said: "They start talking ignorance to me and if I'm in a bad mood look out. I don't want nobody to come bug me because I don't come bug them."

While park rangers keep an eye on Mr. Jones, what they can do to help Mr. Jones move on is limited.

Director of Parks Candy Foggo said: "It is up to the individual to say he wants to have assistance from Health and Family Services. We try to help people move on and then they pop up somewhere else."

And Mr. Burt said he will continue to come back to the spot because he is comfortable there. Mr. Burt also said that Mr. Jones' family will not help him.

However, when contacted, Mr. Jones' mother Deborah Darrell seemed willing to provide for her son. She has recently sold her house, which seems to be a sore spot for Mr. Jones and is living with her sister temporarily.

But she said: "If I get a house he can live with me."

"He chooses that life. He wasn't kicked out of the house or anything like that. That's the way he likes."

When asked why he has made the choice, she said he has a drug problem.

Mr. Jones admitted that he does use many drugs but said: "There's nothing wrong with having a little smoke but it's just there. It's no escape."

Reflecting on his life he said: "I could have straightened up my life when I was 18 but they make it hard. The Bermuda Regiment takes up a lot of time.

"It's too bad I didn't get into sewing. It's a lot of money in it. What do they call it - tailors?"