Central London square overrun by 'aggressive' rough sleepers

A busy square just over a mile from 10 Downing Street is full of rough sleepers who have been accused of harming local businesses.Grosvenor Gardens, close to Victoria station, has become a popular spot for the homeless, with shopkeepers and business owners complaining of frequent drug use and rampant theft.It comes just days after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed to end rough sleeping in his first policy pledge after taking office.The park is overlooked by The Goring Hotel, which was granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II for hospitality services in 2013, the only hotel ever granted the honour.Now however, yards from the hotel doors there are dozens of homeless people wrapped in blankets or lying in tents, with pillows, sleeping bags and other belongings often seen piled on top of bus shelters.According to The Daily Mail, homeless people, often on drugs, frequently steal hundreds of pounds worth of produce from their local businesses or harass shop staff.Bally Singh, who runs the off-licence Charles of Belgravia, told the Mail that two homeless people had smashed through his front door and stolen more than £1,000 worth of alcohol and cigarettes. He said: “This was the first robbery I've had in my shop in over 100 years of ownership.“They were very foolish thieves as they put their stolen goods into a rubbish bag from the council, which is red in colour... It's terrible. I had to replace the door and the lock on my shutters as they broke the motor.”Mr Singh said that frequent raids are costing his shop between £30 and £40 a week.“We informed the council about it in a very big email, and there are guards patrolling around,” he added.Varundi, a receptionist at a nearby hotel, said that they were unable to let a room for one week when a homeless man urinated inside after booking it and stole the linens from the room.Read MoreShe said that there are more than ten people sleeping in Grosvenor Gardens each night.Other local business owners had similar stories, with rough sleepers entering their establishments daily and trying to steal food.One barista told The Mail that recently installed security guards sometimes helped - but another said he had been punched by a homeless person after they tried to steal food from their cafe.Cllr Caroline Sargent, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Enforcement at Westminster City Council, said: “Local people and businesses are fed up with rough sleeping sites springing up, and so are we. This is totally unacceptable in the heart of a capital city.“As a Council we do all we can to help people sleeping rough off the streets and spend £8m a year on support ranging from hostels to addiction treatment.“While many people we engage with support to move away from rough sleeping, some locations can also attract individuals involved in anti-social behaviour and, in some cases, criminal activity.“Andy Burnham has pledged to end rough sleeping - we'd like to take him up on that. We need everyone to play their part - immigration, police and businesses so that we end this problem for good and this needs the urgent support of the Home Office.'Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Met's lead for business crime, said that new crime reporting technology is helping the force to identify offenders faster and bring more shoplifters to justice. He added: “By receiving CCTV footage and evidence directly from retailers at the point a crime is committed, we can build stronger cases and act more decisively.”