A traveller has taken up permanent residence in London’s exclusive Park Lane where the average property price is around £12million.
Aurel Roman and his partner Larisa erected a giant tent on a grass verge in the centre of the Mayfair dual carriageway three months ago and have ignored police instructions to leave.
Mr Roman, 39, who arrived in the UK legally from Romania, said: ‘They come regularly to tell us we must leave and I say “No” and one of the officers said “You mustn’t act like you are the King of Park Lane” and I told him I am!
‘This is my new home and I don’t have to pay anybody a penny for it. Larisa and I have come to the UK legally and maybe, yes, we are breaking somebody’s laws, but we cannot do anything but survive.’
He showed their passports had UK entry stamps and revealed they had left their children – they have a son and daughter each – behind with their ex-partners.
Aurel Roman erected a giant tent on a grass verge in the centre of the Mayfair dual carriageway three months ago
He lives there with his partner Larisa erected a giant tent on a grass verge in the centre of the Mayfair dual carriageway three months ago
Asked why he had chosen one of Britain’s most expensive streets to reside in, he said: ‘Larisa and I are beggars. This is a good place to reach Victoria Station and Oxford Street to ask people for money.
‘The London people do help us but some tell us to f*** off and to get jobs.
‘I would love to work but somebody stole all my papers from our tent. We lost our “government papers” and now I cannot get any labouring work or any job. What am I to do?’
Mr Roman and his wife sleep in a tiny green tent which has a larger tent erected over it.
As he spoke, Larisa fed a loft of pigeons from crisp packets. She has strung up apples for birds to peck on and planted flowers to help make their stay more homely.
But nearby officials have installed traps to snare rats and other vermin and some drivers sneer and shout abuse at them as they drive by.
Larisa speaks no English, but Mr Roman said: ‘She wants you to know that we are good people. We are struggling in life and have to beg. But we cause nobody any trouble.’
Previously, homeless people who have taken up residence between the dual carriageway have been known to cause trouble with pickpocketing and anti-social behaviour.
Food and drink can be seen outside the tent, including three Activia yogurts, a packet of Thai Sweet Chilli flavoured Walkers Sensations, a clementine, and a Nutella and Go snack pot, as well as what appears to be a candle
Mr Roman, 39, has ignored police instructions to leave. He said ‘they come regularly to tell us we must leave and I say “No”‘ and he is ‘the King of Park Lane’
He doesn’t ‘have to pay anybody a penny for’ his new home and said he and Larisa have come to the UK legally. ‘Maybe, yes, we are breaking somebody’s laws, but we cannot do anything but survive’
He showed his and his partner’s passports with UK entry stamps and revealed they had left their four children – each have a son and daughter – behind with their ex-partners
Asked why he had chosen one of Britain’s most expensive streets to reside in, he said they are beggars and ‘this is a good place to reach Victoria Station and Oxford Street to ask people for money’
Mr Roman and his wife sleep in a tiny green tent which has a larger tent erected over it opposite the the £1,000-a-night Park Lane Hilton Hotel
The couple use the facilities offered by local coffee shops and visit homeless charities for support but said they were worried about a cold winter and expected to be there into the New Year.
Opposite their home are the luxury Park Lane Hilton and The Dorchester hotels where room rates can start from more than £1,000 a night.
Top of the range cars such as Mclarens, Bentleys and Ferraris line the streets nearby and an Aston Martin showroom has pride of place next to the five star Grosvenor House Hotel.
Mr Roman added: ‘Good luck to them. In this lifetime I will never have that money. But we survive and remain happy.’
They each have pieces of cardboard which have marker pen messages which they brandish when begging for money.
A drifter from Scotland called ‘Keef’ has also taken up residence.
He said: ‘I have a place to stay in the east end of Glasgow by a homeless charity. But I am a traveller and I have stayed here before.
‘I have just come down for a few weeks to pick up a bicycle and then head back.
Larisa sits on a deckchair outside the tent surrounded by a loft of pigeons. She feeds the birds from crisp packets and has strung up apples for them to peck on
George Roman, who is 60 this month and speaks no English, said he was looking for a job
A drifter from Scotland called ‘Keef’ has also taken up residence. He said: ‘I have a place to stay in the east end of Glasgow by a homeless charity. But I am a traveller and I have stayed here before’
‘I like it here in Park Lane. It’s my second home, my London residence. I always stay right here when I am in town.
‘I have brought my tent with me. But it needs repairing because last time I was here somebody took a knife to it and slashed it. It can be dangerous here at night.’
Another Romanian has pitched up a tent nearby opposite The Dorchester.
George Roman, who is 60 this month and speaks no English, said he was looking for a ‘profession’.
A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: ‘We spend more than any other local authority – £7m a year – on rough sleeping services which include safe hostel beds, with on-site support and professionals who work closely with those who may experiencealcohol and drug addiction.
‘Our teams are out every night offering help to those living outdoors in partnership with experienced organisations like The Passage and St Mungo’s.
‘The reasons people end up sleeping rough are complex – they can range from relationship and family breakdown or loss of home from eviction, to people who may be traumatised and consider living on the streets to be a safer place for them. Wider national trends – like the cost of living crisis – mean we are seeing rough sleeping rise across the country.
‘As the centre of London, Westminster is a destination for rough sleepers from both the UK and abroad and we see new faces arriving all the time.’
“For whatever reasons people end up on the street, Westminster City Council is there to support individuals with a route to a better life.”
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