A VILLAGE of some 50 tents on the streets of London has been dubbed Britain’s answer to the infamous “Skid Row”.
And the poverty-stricken camp of homeless people is just a stone’s throw away from posh multimillion pound homes.
The growing encampment of tarpaulin, wooden pallets and discarded newspapers is spread across two halves of a major junction on London’s Euston Road and outside Warren Street Tube Station.
Residents in the ramshackle tents told The Sun this week they are regularly shooed around nearby streets by the authorities – but have been at the current location on the central reservation for seven months.
Just minutes away are the plush Georgian mansions of Fitzrovia – with locals saying the tent town is unacceptable and its inhabitants need help.
The capital’s homelessness crisis has reached an all-time high of over 13,000 annual rough sleepers – a rise of nearly 75 percent in a decade.
What’s more, the “Skid Row” site sits within PM Sir Keir Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency – with the Labour leader vowing he would put Britain “on track to ending homelessness” during his election campaign.
And while Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan launched a Plan of Action in May to end rough sleeping by 2030, those living in the Warren Street camp feel like they’ve been forgotten – and many fear for their lives.
Khan has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the crisis of rough sleepers in the capital – a city where extraordinary affluence often clashes with extreme poverty.
It comes as US President Donald Trump reignited his war of words with Khan this week, labelling him “a horrible, vicious disgusting mayor” and accused him of doing a “terrible job”.
During our visit, the camp was said to be split into two, on the central reservation, and also across the road, seeing a range of nationalities, including Brits, Romanians, Bulgarians and Ukrainians.
Some said they had been waiting years for accommodation.
Last month, a 32-year-old Romanian man living at the site reportedly died after suffering a heart attack. According to another dweller, he had only recently moved there.
Ukrainian Stepan, 59, said: “Someday they will come into my tent and find my body.
“This government does nothing. There’s no support, no help, no interest.”
Stepan has lived in the UK for 25 years, and used to work as a builder, but has been homeless for three years after an operation for bowel cancer left him unable to continue to work and support himself.
He has lived on the junction since the spring and says he feels scared living in the camp.
What is Skid Row?
SKID ROW is a neighbourhood in Downtown Los Angeles, also called Central City East, that is home to one of the largest populations of homeless people in the US.
It is spread over 54 blocks, with inhabitants otherwise homeless or on low-income.
The large concentration has been prevalent since at least the 1930s but dates back in various forms to the 19th century.
In addition to the makeshift homes, there are also homeless shelters and support services, and the area also contains a mix of small businesses, saloons and low-income housing.
Aside from the challenges, the row is home to creative expression, including public art.
The Skid Row Action Plan looks to expand housing and services.
Stephan said: “I want to protect myself… The street is dangerous. It’s very dangerous.
“So many times people have attacked me. How am I meant to protect myself, with my disability I can’t protect myself physically.”
Stepan has diabetes and arthritis, which means he struggles to walk and has to use a walking stick to get around.
He pitched his tent there because it is just opposite University College London Hospital, which means he can go to appointments for his failing health and access a toilet.
This government does nothing. There’s no support, no help, no interest
Stepan
Stepan said he feels a world away from the promises of politicians like Mayor Khan.
“I’m really disappointed in this country,” he said. “We lost humility. We are not humans anymore, we are animals.”
While he said he might be able to get temporary accommodation, he really wants a permanent solution.
“I want to support myself. I don’t need much, just food and a place to live,” he added.
On Fitzroy Square, just around the corner from the junction, gleaming white townhouses line the wide, clean streets, with benches overlooking the beautiful private gardens fenced in the middle of the plaza.
It is home to the Liberian Embassy and the High Commission of Mozambique, and features a wealth of blue plaques to figures like novelist Virginia Wolf and former Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.
The purchase of a terraced house in Fitzrovia would easily set you back millions of pounds, with one five-bed house on the square selling for £10 million in 2022, according to Rightmove.
Locals said they thought the conditions of those living in the tents were unacceptable.
But now they think it is too late for anything to change.
John, 61, who has lived in the area all of his life, told The Sun: “It’s a disgrace, really.
“But what can the police do about it as a bottom line? They can’t make them disappear.
“It shouldn’t have been allowed in the first place. There’s too many of them now. It’s everywhere, it’s not just here.”
He compared the camp to like Skid Row in Los Angeles.
Homelessness in the capital increased by 10 per cent in 2024/25, according to the most recent statistics from charity Trust for London.
This means there were 13,231 people seen sleeping rough in London in that 12-month period, an increase of 74 per cent over the past decade.
John said he does not think London’s mayor has done enough to tackle the issue, especially around his local area.
He said: “He should do more. It’s got out of hand. I would say it’s making the area less safe. It all goes on round here.”
He added: “I’ve lived round here for 35 years, but it’s got worse.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has made clear that no one should have to sleep rough on our streets.
“Under his leadership, more than 18,000 people have been helped off the streets, but there’s much more to do.
“That’s why Sadiq has launched a bold new Plan of Action to end rough sleeping for good by 2030 and has provided record funding from City Hall. This includes the single biggest investment of £10 million – more than any London Mayor.
“The Mayor is delivering new Ending Homelessness Hubs and expanding his Homes off the Streets programme, alongside establishing a prevention phoneline and funding more support workers in our communities.
“Sadiq will continue to work closely with the Government, London councils and the homelessness sector to tackle this crisis as we continue building a fairer London for everyone.”
This time last year, Prime Minister Starmer pledged to “tackle this injustice and make sure no one faces homelessness”.
He promised his government was “taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness”, but one year on, the number of rough sleepers has risen again.
Many people who spoke to The Sun said they did not think he cared about their plight.
Arturo passes the tents every morning on his way to work.
He said: “It’s shocking. It feels like there’s nothing that can be done.”
Instead of things getting better, he said there have been more tents pitched in the past “two or three months”.
It is a depressing sight for people commuting to work every day, to see people living in such conditions, he said.
While he noticed there was some “littering” around the site, he said he had not observed much anti-social behaviour, and felt that the people who lived there were generally respectful.
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We take residents’ concerns very seriously.
“This is not a situation that can continue, and we are concerned for the welfare of people rough sleeping here.
“Our urgent focus is on working with partners, including the landowners, to prioritise helping people rough sleeping here rebuild their lives away from the streets.
“This means finding suitable accommodation and providing the range of support they need, while making sure the area is safe, secure and maintained for everyone.
“We are clear that no-one should be living on the streets, and we are doing all we can to address this amidst a severe housing crisis across London.”
Alex Wilson AM, Leader of Reform UK on the London Assembly: “This Skid Row-style tent city is a blight on London… I urge the authorities to take quick and effective action.”
