We live in 'The Boneyard' – it's the UK's most desperate area for the homeless at Christmas… thugs even set us on FIRE | The Sun

Violence against rough sleepers

CRISIS reveal people living on the street are nearly 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence

17 times more likely to have been victims of violence

15 times more likely to have suffered verbal abuse in the past year

8 in 10 have suffered some sort of violence or abuse

35 per cent – more than one in three – have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced a form of violence while homeless

34 per cent – more than a third – have had something thrown at them

9 per cent – nearly a tenth – have been urinated on

Nearly half of homeless people (48 per cent) have been intimidated or threatened with violence

Nearly six out of 10 (59 per cent) have been verbally abused or harrassed while homeless

Shelter estimate there are 167,000 homeless people in London, the worst-hit area in England, which has seen an 11 per cent increase in one year alone. 

Rough sleepers are 17 times more likely to be the victims of violence and more than a third have been deliberately attacked, according to the housing charity Crisis.

Among them is a homeless man named Gareth, who was last week saved from two drug-addled thugs "kicking seven bells out of him" by Tory MP David David.

The intervention, which happened yards away from Parliament on Tuesday night, was described as "a true act of heroism" by one witness.

Speaking about Gareth, Mr Davis said: "He was still bleeding. It’s fortunately nothing permanent other than a few scars, I think.

“It was messy, but he’s all right. He’s still alive and that’s the important thing.”

'I could have died'

Less than a mile away, Aaron's ordeal with a security guard went viral. McDonald’s has publicly apologised and the bouncer, from a third-party firm, has been fired. 

Aaron tells us: “I was lucky not to get burned from the bleach they put in the water. I managed to get up in time but my bedding got soaked. 

“I hardly slept at all that night because it was so damp. It was freezing cold and wet, because it happened during winter I could have died.”

Aaron was born in Limerick, Ireland, to a heroin-addicted mother and grew up in Hackney, London, after being adopted as a baby.

The young man, who ended up on the streets seven years ago, tells us: “My birth mother passed away when I was 18. I met her once and two months later she passed away from a heroin overdose. 

“I was born addicted to heroin because of her and had to spend 10 months in hospital being treated as a baby. 

“My adoptive mum was supportive and tried to help me but she can’t have me living with her. I have a lot of mental health issues.” 

This isn’t the only difficulty Aaron has been subjected to since living on the streets, where he says his life is “f***ing hard enough” without additional cruelty. 

He adds: “I’ve had people kick me in the head while I’ve been sleeping and I’ve had my things stolen. I've also seen people’s bedding thrown away by litter pickers. It’s so f***ing out of order.” 

Other rough sleepers shared similarly harrowing stories during The Sun’s visit to Westminster, a borough that Shelter reports has 8,137 homeless people – the second-highest rate in London.  

Jamie Clarke, 31, has been in the area for five months and says he was “unsurprised” by Aaron’s ordeal because he’s been attacked himself. 

Shuddering as he speaks outside a Pret a Manger, he tells us: “Once my sleeping bag was set alight while I was asleep. 

“I had to jump out before it burned me and spent the rest of the night freezing from the cold. I’ve also been p***ed on a couple of times too.  

“I’m struggling and it feels like I’m constantly being kicked when I’m already down enough. There are some proper a***holes out there.”

'Homeless at 10'

Nearby David Stanley, 45, tells us he’s recently had grief from a “shirty” security guard who became physical while trying to move him from a sheltered shopfront. 

He says: “This guy took my bag and chucked it near the road so I had to get up. When I sat back down, he grabbed my sleeping bag at the foot end and dragged me across the floor.” 

David has been homeless multiple times throughout his life. This recent stint has lasted nine months and follows him being “kicked out” by his ex.

He says: “She’s a drinker and I’m not. She used to boot me out all of the time for no reason. I’d often be able to tell before she was about to kick off so I’d just leave.

“I’ve been homeless regularly from the age of 10. My old man was a drinker and used to kick me out regularly too."

David says it’s “much harder” for homeless people to find shelter in recent years due to alleyways and open spaces being covered by fences, gates and locks to “keep homeless people out”.

It also presents issues for storing possessions, which John Ling, 58, from East London, knows all too well after having his sleeping bag stolen multiple times. 

Speaking from a small gap in his bedding, he tells us: “I lie here because it’s a lot of effort to pack it all up. If I leave it here people will nick it.

“I paid £70 for this from donations and still some nights I don’t sleep at all. A month ago, a girl threw water over me while I was asleep and security guards used to kick me to wake me up.”

'I lost everything'

Reasons for ending up on the streets vary. For Bob, 39, his issue was such a severe drug addiction that cost him everything. 

“I made bad decisions – drugs, alcohol, prostitutes,” he says. “When I tried cocaine for the first time at 20 it was like Pringles, I couldn’t stop. It was all my own fault. 

“Covid was the last time I worked. I remortgaged my house but the £70,000 from it didn’t last the year. I had a £30,000 loan before that too but I burned through it all. 

“It was mental, I was sniffing three grams of coke a day and lost four stone during that time. I was a f***ing degenerate and I paid for it. I ended up homeless.” 

Homeless at Christmas – in stats

NEW research from Shelter has revealed the true scale of homelessness in England using official data and Freedom of Information requests.

In England more than 309,000 people in England will spend Christmas without a home, including 140,000 children. That figure has risen 14 per cent, by 38,100 people, in just one year.

From that figure, there are believed to be 3,069 people sleeping on the streets on any given night.

There are 167,000 homeless people in London – which is the equivalent of one in 51 people.

The area with the highest rate of homelessness is Newham with 17,234 – roughly one in 20 people; followed by Westminster with 8,137 (one in 25) and Hackney 7,923 (one in 33).

Homelessness figures according to the regions:

1. London – 167,469
2. South East – 29,540
3. West Midlands – 24,000
4. East of England – 19,936
5. North West – 18,812
6. South West – 12,507
7. East Midlands – 7,890
8. Yorkshire and The Humber – 6,225
9. North East – 1,507

While sleeping rough, Bob says he was propositioned by several men who offered to share drugs with him and believes they wanted sexual favours in return. 

He tells us: “They wanted to slip you a few quid to do sexual things. I always said no. One of them didn’t like that and said, ‘I should kick you in the f***ing head, but I won’t lower myself to your level’."

Bob is now in temporary accommodation thanks to a charity. Before that he managed to find a decorating job that paid £750, which helped him to buy a “piece of s*** van” to sleep in.

He says: “I was there for three months. It was cold but a lot better than being on the streets. If it rained I was still dry. I’m lucky to live in a flat now. I stay away from cocaine and sell the Big Issue.”

'Perfect storm'

Homelessness across England has risen 14 per cent in the last year according to Shelter. They estimate there are 309,550 people – including nearly 140,000 children – who are affected.

This is broken down into 3,000 people sleeping rough on any given night, 20,000 in hostels or supported accommodation and 279,400 living in temporary accommodation. 

Mairi MacRae, the charity’s associate director, tells us: “What we’ve seen is a perfect storm – the cost of living crisis, rents continuing at record high levels and the results of successive governments over many decades failing to invest in truly affordable social housing.” 

She describes London’s rates of homelessness as “really shocking” and says it’s a “microcosm for a lot of issues”.

Mairi added: “We’ve seen some really shocking statistics come out of London… where on top of those problems, we are seeing a lack of regulation around Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’. 

“More people are coming to us saying they are being evicted for complaining about damp, mould or conditions in their rental properties through this notice.” 

Under Section 21 of the House Act 1988, landlords are required to give tenants two months' notice and are not required to give any reason for an eviction.

This issue is what led to 64-year-old Mick sleeping on the steps of Westminster Cathedral – dubbed ‘the boneyard’ – for the past two weeks. 

Mick says: “They kicked me out and I don’t understand why. There was no ‘You’re in breach of this or that’, I was just served three eviction notices and now I’m here.

“I think the landlord wanted to sell the home. I showed it to housing officers and they told me they just wanted me out.”

Mick, who is getting advice about the eviction from a local charity, fears the temperatures plunging due to his age.

He also has several health problems including two that he says could be “life-threatening without treatment”.

Mick tells us: “I’ve been homeless three or four times, so it’s not new to me but the older I get the harder it becomes. I’m really worried about this winter.

“I have diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver, which isn’t due to drinking. I’m not taking my medication because there’s no way for me to get it. I’m just coasting at the moment and hoping for the best.”

Shelter is urging the government to speed up the Renters' (Reform) Bill, which would ban no-fault evictions – an issue Mairi says is “driving up homelessness”.

In addition, they call for families and individuals in temporary accommodation to be moved into permanent housing more quickly.

Government figures show that 47 per cent of homeless families in temporary accommodation have been there for more than two years.

Last month, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced £150million of funding to buy or build 1,230 homes for rough sleepers.

The money will also fund support services for vulnerable adults and further accommodation as well as repairing and renovating existing buildings.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home.

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"That’s why we are spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including making £1 billion available so councils can give financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.

“Temporary accommodation is an important way of making sure no family is without a roof over their head, but councils must ensure it is temporary and suitable for families, who have a right to appeal if it doesn’t meet their household’s needs. Through our Rough Sleeping Strategy, we will continue to work to end rough sleeping completely.”

Homelessness help

HERE is some useful information if you are homeless or know someone who is experiencing homelessness.

FIRST CONTACT

If you or someone you know is sleeping rough you can use the alert Streelink service to help connect them with outreach services: www.thestreetlink.org.uk/start 

FOOD

You can find free food stations via:

The Pavement – for food and soup runs: www.thepavement.org.uk/services 

Homeless Link – for day centres: www.homeless.org.uk 

The Trussell Trust – for food banks: www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/ 

Food Cycle – for food services – www.foodcycle.org.uk/free-food-locations/ 

HOUSING

Councils have a duty to help people who are homeless or facing homelessness. Contact the Housing Options team from the council you have a local connection to and see if they can offer:

• Emergency accommodation – a place in a shelter or a hostel
• Longer-term accommodation including independent or social housing

Visit: www.gov.uk/find-local-council 

During times of severe cold or heat, local councils have special accommodation known as Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). Find out more here: www.gov.uk/find-local-council. 

For advice, support or legal services related to housing visit www.shelter.co.uk or call 0808 800 4444.

You can also contact Crisis: www.crisis.org.uk/get-help/ 

For housing advice, call Shelter on 0808 800 4444 or visit: www.shelter.org.uk.

DAY CENTRES 

Day centres can help by providing internet access, free or cheap food, shower and laundry facilities, safe storage for belongings, phone charging and clothes, toiletries or sleeping bags.

They can also help with services for benefits or immigration advice; health support; finding work; educational or social activities; hostel, night shelter or outreach referrals.

Centres can be found through Homeless Link: www.homeless.org.uk/

BENEFITS

Normally you can claim Universal Credit if you are sleeping on the streets or staying in a hostel. If you are in a hostel, you can claim Housing Benefit to help with rent. You do not need a fixed address or a bank account.  

USEFUL CONTACTS

Crisis – visit: www.crisis.org.uk or call 0300 636 1967.

Shelter – visit: www.shelter.org.uk or call 0808 800 4444. 

Centrepoint (for people aged 16-25) – visit: www.centrepoint.org.uk or call 0808 800 0661.

St Mungo’s (Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Christchurch, Leicester, Oxford, Poole and Reading) – visit: www.mungos.org or call 020 3856 6000.

Depaul UK (for young people) – visit: https://www.depaul.org.uk/ or call 0207 939 1220.

Citizen's Advice (legal advice) – visit: www.citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0345 404 0506.

The Samaritans (health and wellbeing) – www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan or call 116 123.

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