• I HAPPENED to be around the Hyde Park and Marble Arch area a few days ago and it resembled one big “doss house”, to put it crudely.

But it’s probably an apt description considering that the place has become a camping station for presumably some unfortunate people who have nowhere else to go.

I witnessed a group of people using a makeshift “stove’ to cook food. Presumably these were new arrivals with nowhere to go and little resources to provide for themselves.

London is not the sole city where one can see these pockets of deprivation. People are camped out on pavements in city centres, leaving morsels of food and other rubbish around which can attract vermin.

This must potentially be a “no-go” area. Police have no power to deal with this nor do they show any inclination to do anything about it, but place the problem at the door of councils or government.

I WALKER
W10