More than 40 rough sleepers have set up camp on Britain’s most famous shopping street.
A long line of homeless people – some sitting together in groups – were seen under duvets and makeshift beds after dark on Oxford Street, London.
The world-renowned shopping hub is one of Europe’s busiest retail streets, with hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe.
In July, just a week after their eviction, migrants were observed resting under bedding and smoking cigarettes on the iconic street. They congregated on the sidewalk in front of the John Lewis flagship store while shoppers and commuters navigated around them.
And enforcement teams were last month called to tear down a nearby encampment which had blighted Hyde Park Corner.
The action was taken by Transport for London (TfL), which applied for a possession order to retake the land.
Around 40 people were seen sleeping on Oxford Street just weeks after a site of homeless people was broken up in Hyde Park
A long line of homeless people were seen under duvets and makeshift beds on Oxford Street last week
The world-renowned shopping hub is one of Europe’s busiest retail streets, with hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe.
MailOnline understands it was the fourth such time the site had been cleared in the last 12 months.
The camp was next to London’s West End tourist Mecca, and just a stone’s throw away from Hyde Park, Marble Arch, Speaker’s Corner, as well as Oxford Street.
The most recent spotting of around 40 homeless people sleeping on world famous street, with locals saying ‘the vibe’ of the area has changed.
One said: ‘After hearing about all the phone snatching and pickpocketing, I thought I knew what to expect.
‘But I wasn’t ready for the number of homeless people I saw when I went to an evening event.’
Another said: ‘I lived in London 20 years ago, worked in Bond Street. It was nothing like that.’
While one quipped: ‘London is a mess right now.’
In July, dramatic pictures showed groups of people from the squalid site in Hyde Park being moved on by officers, some of whom appeared to be wearing stab vests.
Migrants slept in white duvets on Oxford Street overnight (pictured) just a week after were evicted from the area in July
The group, which set up camp outside the shopping destination’s John Lewis, were seen in a line sitting on their duvets as they rested and smoked cigarettes in July
Migrants sleeping in new white duvets outside John Lewis on London’s Oxford Street in July
Occupants of the camp were forced to rip down dwellings made of tarpaulin sheeting while bailiffs watched on.
Some from the tent city were pictured hauling grubby-looking mattresses after being evicted.
Security teams comprising dog-handling units maintained a presence at the former campsite.
For months the prime city centre spot, opposite The Dorchester in Park Lane has been plagued by homelessness.
Up to 100 migrants were reportedly camped at the site at one point, with some defiantly saying they won’t go anywhere.
Homeless people living in Hyde Park Corner being evicted from their ‘tent city’ earlier in July
Bailiffs removed the group following an eviction order obtained by Transport for London (TfL)
The group was ordered to dismantle their tents and move on from the location. Some enforcement officers appeared to help them take down their tents
But their presence ignited fury from exasperated local residents, who wanted them gone.
When MailOnline visited a previous Mayfair location last year, those living there insisted they were going nowhere.
‘We don’t have any money [to go anywhere else]. We will just stay here until we can find something,’ said someone from the group.
The eyesore was just yards from an Aston Martin showroom and other prestigious hotels like the Beaumont, the Hyatt Regency and the Connaught.
But tycoons looking out on the camp from their penthouses, were reportedly furious at allegedly seeing people drinking and using shrubberies as toilets.
It is understood that Westminster City Council spend over £8million in a bid to try and help rough sleepers and to provide them with resources.
