Illegal camp on London's Park Lane that was home to Romanian beggars and linked to rise in crime and anti-social behaviour is torn down after SEVEN YEARS

  • A huge mess was left on green space in the heart of the capital, sparking a series of complaints from locals
  • Officers and police used a 16-ton compactor and worked for two days to clear all the debris left behind
  • Westminster council said it was 'unacceptable' that residents and businesses had to foot the clean-up bill  

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An illegal camp on London's Park Lane that was home to Romanian beggars and linked to a rise in crime and anti-social behaviour has finally been torn down after seven years.

Pictures today show council workers clearing piles of rubbish and dismantling tents callously left on green space in the heart of the capital.

Wealthy locals living a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace have made a series of complaints over recent weeks, and in previous instances when groups have pitched themselves on the grass for long periods, but the occupants continued to pile up waste.

It was by no means the first time people have set up shop on the road, with a group of rough sleepers - believed to be migrants - staying there in July.

The area has been blighted by trouble over a period of some seven years, with different groups coming and going, but causing disruption to those living and working in an affluent part of the city. 

Westminster City Council Rachael Robathan said last month her local authority didn't have the legal powers or resources to deal with encampments where people refuse or aren't entitled to help and urged Priti Patel to help shut down the encampment. 

Now though, after the occupants left and abandoned their tents, authorities swooped in, armed with heavy machinery and removal vehicles, to clear up the mess over the last two days.

It is not known, however, where the group of Romanians has moved on to. 

Slide me

A slidey graphic shows the extent of the mess left behind by occupants at the encampment and how it looks now after the huge clean-up operation

Rough sleepers had set up a homeless camp on an open space opposite a five-star Hilton hotel on London's Park Lane and left behind a huge amount of mess

Rough sleepers had set up a homeless camp on an open space opposite a five-star Hilton hotel on London's Park Lane and left behind a huge amount of mess

Council officers and police spent two days clearing the camp, which required a 16-ton compactor and a crew of cleaners for the scale of debris left behind

Council officers and police spent two days clearing the camp, which required a 16-ton compactor and a crew of cleaners for the scale of debris left behind

Pictures today show council workers clearing piles of rubbish and dismantling tents callously left on green space in the heart of the capital

Pictures today show council workers clearing piles of rubbish and dismantling tents callously left on green space in the heart of the capital

The 'homeless village' set up on an upmarket street in central London last week, as rows of tents lined a green space between two busy roads

The 'homeless village' set up on an upmarket street in central London last week, as rows of tents lined a green space between two busy roads

The group set up on the exclusive Park Lane in Westminster - a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace - and huddled around a fire last Saturday as the temperatures dropped

The group set up on the exclusive Park Lane in Westminster - a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace - and huddled around a fire last Saturday as the temperatures dropped

Cllr Robathan said: 'Council officers and police have spent two days clearing an illegal camp in the centre of Park Lane. This has required a 16-ton compactor and a crew of cleaners for the scale of debris left behind.

'We can and do routinely clear sites like this and offer people better alternatives - Westminster City Council spends more than any other council on helping genuine rough sleepers and we do a huge amount to help.

'The reality is that when people refuse our help we are legally limited in what we can do, and this leads to the kind of scenes we have witnessed at Park Lane, it is unacceptable.

'Residents and local businesses should not have to put up with an illegal encampment in the middle of one of our main roads, and they are the ones who end up footing the bill for the clean-up operation.' 

In a letter to the Home Secretary last month, Cllr Robathan had requested the Home Office do more to combat the smuggling of people to Britain and ramp up immigration laws.  

The homeless encampment located on a central reservation of the highly sought-after road in Mayfair was in place for seven years and the council leader claims it has led to several examples of anti-social behaviour.

One such instance includes a brothel run out of a tent by two British sisters which, after being served seven notices to leave, finally moved on in 2019 to avoid prosecution. 

Wealthy locals living a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace made a series of complaints over recent weeks, but the occupants continued to pile up waste on the grass

Wealthy locals living a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace made a series of complaints over recent weeks, but the occupants continued to pile up waste on the grass

It was not the first time people have set up shop on the road, with a group of rough sleepers - believed to be migrants - staying there in July

It was not the first time people have set up shop on the road, with a group of rough sleepers - believed to be migrants - staying there in July

Westminster City Council Rachael Robathan said last month her local authority didn't have the legal powers or resources to deal with encampments where people refuse or aren't entitled to help and urged Priti Patel to help shut down the encampment

Westminster City Council Rachael Robathan said last month her local authority didn't have the legal powers or resources to deal with encampments where people refuse or aren't entitled to help and urged Priti Patel to help shut down the encampment

Now though, after the occupants left and abandoned their tents, authorities swooped in, armed with heavy machinery and removal vehicles, to clear up the mess

Now though, after the occupants left and abandoned their tents, authorities swooped in, armed with heavy machinery and removal vehicles, to clear up the mess

Cllr Robathan said: 'The reality is that when people refuse our help we are legally limited in what we can do, and this leads to the kind of scenes we have witnessed at Park Lane, it is unacceptable'

Cllr Robathan said: 'The reality is that when people refuse our help we are legally limited in what we can do, and this leads to the kind of scenes we have witnessed at Park Lane, it is unacceptable'

The leader added: 'Residents and local businesses should not have to put up with an illegal encampment in the middle of one of our main roads, and they are the ones who end up footing the bill for the clean-up operation' (pictured)

The leader added: 'Residents and local businesses should not have to put up with an illegal encampment in the middle of one of our main roads, and they are the ones who end up footing the bill for the clean-up operation' (pictured)