Victoria Street is among London’s busiest thoroughfares, filled each evening with highly paid professionals hurrying towards trains bound for the Home Counties.
Many commuters stop at nearby pubs, bars and restaurants before heading home. But for a dishevelled man sitting on the pavement, the usual after-work routine appeared far removed from his reality.
He focused instead on preparing a small pipe, transferring material from a paper wrapping into the bowl and pressing it down. After struggling to find a lighter, he set it alight, inhaled deeply and soon collapsed forward, appearing barely conscious.
The disturbing scene was recorded on London’s Victoria Street earlier this week, during the early evening when the surrounding area was crowded with commuters and visitors.
It offers a stark glimpse into the capital’s drug crisis, where synthetic cannabinoid products sold under the street name Spice have become increasingly visible among some rough sleepers.
The Class B drug has gained notoriety for causing some users to become unresponsive or move in a dazed, zombie-like state. Once associated with troubled inner-city communities in the United States, it later spread into Europe and became particularly prevalent in British prisons.
Spice has become a widely used substance among some rough sleepers in London, with the Class B drug linked to rapid, zombie-like states
In central London, rough sleepers are reported to use Spice regularly, with a small quantity available for as little as £3
At Grosvenor Gardens, a group of male and female rough sleepers were seen climbing over the fence after closing time and using the benches as an improvised drug den (Pictured: Unidentified sleepers near Lower Grosvenor Gardens)
Its low price is one reason for its spread. A quantity sufficient for a pipe like the one seen in the commuter district can reportedly be bought for around £3, despite the drug’s powerful effects.
During a patrol through Westminster this week, its use appeared widespread in several parts of the area.
At nearby Grosvenor Gardens, a group of male and female rough sleepers were seen scaling the fence after the park had closed. They made their way to the benches, which appeared to have been turned into an improvised place to take drugs.
Once inside, members of the group prepared pipes resembling the one seen on Victoria Street and passed them between one another.
Within moments, one man was bent over and appeared unable to move normally as the substance began to take effect.
Elsewhere, two men were seen slumped in the entrance of a pub after what appeared to be a dose, while two others wandered slowly nearby. Their vacant movements echoed the zombie-like behaviour often associated with Spice.
People struggling with the drug can also be difficult to engage. Some reportedly reject offers of assistance, reacting angrily or moving away when offered a safe, clean place to sleep.
Claire Dunn, who works in public protection at Westminster Council, said the drug’s affordability had made the situation especially difficult to tackle.
“People can buy a small amount for about £3,” she said. “If several people pool their money and raise £30, they may be able to secure a larger quantity at a reduced price because dealers often offer discounts for bigger purchases.
“That allows the cycle of supply and demand to continue,” she added.
Dunn said the consequences of Spice use could be deeply distressing, with the drug capable of producing severe and frightening effects.
‘You see people slumped on the floor. They have been sick on themselves. Sometimes we have seen people who have urinated or defecated on themselves because they have lost control of their bodily functions.
‘Sometimes people look as though they are not breathing. They are not moving and they are not communicating.’
Our News Outlet joined Westminster Council members, enforcement specialists and outreach workers on a walk through Victoria to see the problem first-hand.
Even before the patrol began, the scale of the challenge was impossible to miss.
A woman was spotted squatting against the side of Westminster City Hall, using the council’s own headquarters as a toilet before wandering away in an apparent daze.
Just yards away, another rough sleeper was dozing in a tent directly outside the building.
‘When you don’t tackle things quickly, they fester,’ Councillor Caroline Sargent, Westminster’s deputy leader and cabinet member for enforcement. ‘That is why we are trying to do something about this.’
Ms Sargent said Conservative-run Westminster is trying to tackle homelessness but often encounters reluctance from the very people they are trying to help.
She said: ‘Around Victoria, for example, there is a cohort of people with very complex needs, often involving addiction, who have been offered a great deal of support.
‘Some repeatedly refuse that support and remain on the street, where we see antisocial behaviour including public defecation, urination and open drug use.
‘That has a real impact on residents and businesses.
‘What we want people to understand is that this is not always simply a homelessness problem. Some of the people involved actually have accommodation available to them, including hostel places.’
As the patrol moved towards nearby Grosvenor Gardens, several men were slumped against a wall appearing to smoke drugs.
Council enforcement officers approached to check what was happening and one of them threw their paraphernalia over the fence into locked gardens.
The problem with Spice, according to a representative from Westminster Council, is its low price – with it costing less than a cup of coffee
One rough sleeper, 31, originally from Bedford, gave a harrowing account of his experience as a Spice user.
He told us: ‘When I can’t even muster a few quid I’ve often sat on the pavement scavenging up bits of Spice and ash just so I can smoke whatever is left. That’s how desperate it gets.
‘I’ve been so desperate for it that dignity just disappears. You’ll beg, borrow, search the floor, whatever it takes.
‘Every time you take it, it can be different. Sometimes it feels amazing but it can also be horrible. I have seen spiders everywhere, or heard voices, or thought I was going to die.
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‘I developed a nervous tic after using it. My speech also started to go.
‘You start telling yourself “This is the last one” – but then an hour later you’re trying to find money for another hit.
‘I’ve used heroin before as well, and Spice can be just as hard to off as that is – you tell yourself you’re going to stop, but then you wake up and you’re looking for it again.’
Councillors say Spice is frequently adulterated with other substances – creating ‘Frankenstein’ concoctions so users may have little idea what they are actually taking.
Supplying the addicts often involves a growing number of naive and exploited young people, referred to as ‘runners’.
Ms Dunn said: ‘They are usually young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are told, “Take this, sell £500 worth and we’ll give you £50”.
‘We have had a number of them arrested over the last six months and by the very next day there is a new runner out on the street.
‘For these kids it looks like easy money, but they are being targeted and exploited.’
In one recent case, she said, a 17-year-old boy was found with around 50 wraps of heroin and cocaine in his mouth when stopped by police.
From Grosvenor Gardens, the patrol continued towards Westminster Cathedral where a soup kitchen is run and around a dozen homeless people have gathered to eat.
But Cllr Sargent said even well-meaning initiatives like this can create unintended problems.
‘While people understandably think they are doing something kind by handing out food and hot meals, many of the people coming here need far more help than that.
‘They have complex health needs and addictions.
‘It can also bring people together in one place and, unfortunately, that can attract drug dealers as well.’
One rough sleeper, Paola, 49, said she herself avoids Victoria at night because of the danger posed by other homeless people and dealers.
She said: ‘I come here to eat. But I never stay overnight. It’s too dangerous.’
Cllr Sargent said Westminster wanted a tougher response where persistent antisocial behaviour followed offers of support – and the next recourse should be police action.
But officer numbers, she said, were a major problem.
Paola, who has been rough sleeping for four years, said she leaves Victoria at night because of the danger posed by other homeless people and dealers
It is thought Spice is now a bigger draw for many rough sleepers than physical comfort and security
‘Last summer, when things became particularly difficult, some charities felt they could not properly do their jobs because their own outreach workers did not feel safe,’ she said.
‘Having a police presence makes a huge difference. The problem is that there simply are not enough officers.’
Councillor David Harvey echoed the fears, saying local officers are often pulled away to demonstrations and other duties.
‘We have some really good officers, but only a tiny number of them,’ he said.
‘I think quite often the police have not felt backed. Officers can feel that if they take a more assertive approach towards disruptive homeless people, they may end up getting into trouble for it.’
The council itself has much more limited powers.
Despite the outrage of many Londoners, its enforcement officers cannot simply physically remove somebody from the pavement.
‘People have to remember that council officers are not police officers,’ Cllr Sargent said.
‘The police can physically detain somebody and arrest them if necessary. Council officers cannot simply pick someone up and remove them.’
The legal backdrop has also shifted following the repeal of the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act in June, ending the old blanket criminalisation of rough sleeping and begging in favour of more targeted powers aimed at harmful behaviour.
Meanwhile, Councillor Festus Akinbusoye, deputy cabinet member for enforcement and a former Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, told of a visiting professor friend from California who had been shocked by the amount of visible drug use in London.
Westminster Council recorded 293 rough sleepers across the borough in their latest count. In Victoria alone, 61 people were marked as homeless
The comparison was particularly striking given the notorious scenes of open drug addiction in cities such as San Francisco.
He said: ‘It’s just really sad, you know, the case of homelessness in general.’
The council’s latest September count recorded 293 rough sleepers across the borough – 6 per cent fewer than at the same time last year.
In Victoria alone, 61 people were recorded. Of those, 48 were identified and engaged with outreach teams, while 13 – more than one in five – were unidentified or would not engage. Five were already subject to enforcement action, the council said.
Council officials estimate that between 10 and 20 per cent of rough sleepers approached by outreach teams will reject the help being offered.
Spice is now a bigger draw for many of them than physical comfort and security, it seems.
The Mayor’s Office was contacted for comment.
