We live in huge tent city dubbed UK’s ‘Skid Row’ in shadow of posh mansions – drugs, public urinating & stealing is rife

A HUGE tent city dubbed the UK’s “Skid Row” thrives next to posh mansions in the London’s glittering West End. Stark pictures show upmarket streets plagued by homeless encampments – revealing the scale of the task facing new PM Andy Burnham after he vowed to “end rough sleeping” across Britain. Hotel staff near London’s posh Park Lane told The Sun that guests feel intimidated by a huge tent city nearby Credit: w8media People are sleeping in doorways, sheltering beneath blankets and living among piles of belongings Credit: w8media The scenes also expose growing anger from residents and business owners, who say the rough sleepers bring intimidation, drug use, street drinking and anti-social behaviour to some of London‘s busiest streets. Locals in Warren Street and Park Lane have complained about people urinating in public, openly taking drugs and stealing from nearby shops. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! While hotel staff told The Sun that guests feel intimidated and workers fear confronting those responsible. Images from the otherwise swanky area show tents and makeshift camps stretching from Euston Road’s central reservation – dubbed London’s own “Skid Row” – to outside Selfridges and the flagship Marks & Spencer store on Oxford Street. Super-fashionable Fitzrovia has also become a hotspot for rough sleepers Credit: w8media Workers say rough sleepers bedding down outside expensive shops Credit: w8media Other pictures show people sleeping in doorways, sheltering beneath blankets and living among piles of belongings as shoppers and tourists walk past. Private security firms have even been hired by wealthy residents on Park Lane following repeated concerns about rough sleepers setting up camp close to their multi-million-pound homes. Super-fashionable Fitzrovia has also become a hotspot, with locals claiming around 100 rough sleepers are now living in the area. When The Sun visited the encampment outside Warren Street Tube station, Hamed Hassan, 43, was cooking chicken on a stove with another resident. Most read in The Sun He said: “We look out for each other here, we have to because nobody else is looking out for us, I have been here for two or three years now.” After hearing Andy Burnham’s pledge to end homelessness, Hamed welcomed the promise. He said: “Yes this will be very good. “I try to keep up with the news by grabbing a copy of the Metro. We will see whether anything changes. We want that, we don’t want to be here. “But at the end of the day we make do with what little we have, the summer is better. But winter here is very tough.” Hamed told The Sun most of the camp’s residents are Romanian nationals, although he did not say what nationality he was. Staff at local shops claim shoplifting has become an everyday problem Credit: w8media Staff at a McDonald’s regularly deal with rough sleepers under the influence, they claim Credit: w8media Business owners opposite the encampment also hope Burnham can finally tackle the growing camp. One man, who asked not to be named and runs a nearby mobile phone accessory shop, said the smell and poor hygiene drives customers away. He said: “I think the government needs to take action, for years they have known what goes on here but nothing changes. “There are lots of shops here and the smell of p*ss on the street here is not good for business. “People complain about it all the time. I know some passengers from the station probably are responsible but it makes sense that the people who sleep just opposite in tents would just go on the street, it is disgusting.” A member of staff at the McDonald’s opposite Warren Street said workers regularly deal with rough sleepers under the influence. She said: “In fairness the majority of them are nice, no bother. But we have the same faces coming in, off their faces on god knows what drugs. “It isn’t nice for anybody, particularly the staff who have to deal with angry homeless people under the influence of drugs and drink when they cause scenes in here.” Further West, workers say rough sleepers bedding down outside Selfridges and Marks & Spencer spend much of the day around Marble Arch. One hotel employee said: “They are always there by the Marble Arch, loitering and dossing around, begging, none of them can speak much English. “They go there when the shops on Oxford Street open and they are moved on. “We see them sometimes openly taking drugs. I know my managers aren’t very happy about it because many of our guests complain, they find them very intimidating. “It is a problem but not one we can really do much about so I really think I am speaking on behalf of many of the hotel owners along Park Lane.” Jay, manager of the Londis and Esso store on Park Lane, claimed shoplifting had become an everyday problem. He said: “Most afternoons a group of them come in and just help themselves to items and leave. We report it to the police but nothing ever happens. “My staff and I are powerless really, what can we do? Police have bigger things to worry about, but how is it fair that these small crimes on a daily basis go unpunished. “We don’t know if these people are armed if we were to confront them, they are scary and they do as they please.” One Fitzrovia resident, who lives just off Park Lane, said homelessness had become impossible to ignore. One local told The Sun homelessness had become impossible to ignore Credit: w8media Andy Burnham made tackling homelessness one of the defining pledges of his new government Credit: w8media They said: “Homelessness has always existed in London, there is nothing new here, but surely in this day and age we can do something. “It isn’t fair for those camping on the street, but equally it isn’t fair for us who live here, earn an honest living, trying to raise families, they are plaguing the area. “Britain, and the capital city, is on its knees. And the Mayor Sadiq Khan should be doing more, yet he is swanning around worrying about being a Sir and getting his seat in the Lords. “What message does that give? He is supposed to be a man of the people, but his lack of actions, and the fact it is getting worse, suggests otherwise.” Before entering Downing Street, Burnham made tackling homelessness one of the defining pledges of his new government. Speaking outside Number 10, he said his first instruction as Prime Minister would be to “end rough sleeping in our country”. Earlier that day, he visited a London homeless shelter and pointed to the Covid-era “Everyone In” scheme. “We did it then, we can do it now,” he said. The pledge echoed one Burnham made when he became Mayor of Greater Manchester, where rough sleeping fell but was not eliminated. The latest figures underline the scale of the challenge. According to Trust for London, 13,231 people were seen sleeping rough in the capital during 2024/25. That was a 10 per cent rise on the previous year and almost 75 per cent higher than a decade ago. Private security firms have been hired by wealthy residents on Park Lane Credit: w8media London’s West End is plagued by homeless encampments Credit: w8media A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor is focused on doing everything he can to get London on a pathway to ending rough sleeping for good by 2030. “That is why he invested £10 million in funding last year – more than any other single investment by a London Mayor – developing a new network of Ending Homelessness Hubs and expanding his Homes off the Streets programme. “We are seeing the impact of that work, with a fall in rough sleeping over the last year. “TfL have been working closely with partners over many months to try to resolve the encampment around Warren Street compassionately and safely. “They continue to closely monitor the situation and are working through next steps with partners. “The Mayor will continue working closely with partners, the Government, councils, and experts to build a safer, fairer London for everyone.” Cllr Caroline Sargent, deputy leader of Westminster City Council and lead member for enforcement, said she was “fed up”. “Local people and businesses are fed up with these rough sleeping sites springing up, and so are we,” the councillor said. “This is totally unacceptable in the heart of a capital city. “Our teams are having to clean up the mess from these sites, and it is ultimately the Westminster taxpayer who is footing the bill at a time when millions are being slashed off our budget. “As a Council we do all we can to help genuine rough sleepers off the streets and spend £8m a year on help ranging from hostels to addiction treatment. “It is often the case we are dealing with people who either won’t accept our help, or who are not entitled to help. This masks organised gangs who commit anti social behaviour and in some cases criminality. “Andy Burnham has pledged to end rough sleeping – I’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“. The Sun has contacted Marks & Spencer for comment. Comment now