Homeless people demand M&S apology over deterrent alarm

A group of rough sleepers have called on Marks & Spencer to apologise for “tormenting” them with a high-pitched alarm while they have been bedding down behind one of its stores.

The alarm was in use for several months to deter homeless people from trying to sleep in an underpass behind the store in Ilford, east London.

The rough sleepers say it is one of the few relatively warm, dry and safe places available to them in the area.

After initially saying the alarm was no longer in use and arguing that community protection law required it to “put in place measures that ensure our stores and the surrounding areas are secure for customers, colleagues and the local community”, Marks & Spencer said engineers would remove the alarm from the premises altogether.

It said that to address the “complex issue” of homelessness it would draw up a local action plan and work with charities to “help fund practical measures to support those affected”.

The alarm system is the latest in a series of measures intended to deter rough sleepers. The revelation that some businesses have installed floor spikes, among other examples of so-called “defensive architecture”, to prevent people from sleeping near them has caused outcry in the past.

One homeless man in Ilford, Parker, 39, said the alarm made it impossible to sleep. “It is extremely high-pitched,” he said. “Sleep is something homeless people desperately need.”

Parker, who studied law, psychology and economics at college, is currently staying with friends and has a job, but said he often spent nights in the tunnel. “It is exhausting being homeless, walking everywhere and dragging heavy bags with you,” he said. “If you are homeless and have a job you need to be able to sleep in order to work.”

He said the alarm had not achieved its objective of driving homeless people away. “It made people more exhausted, more on the edge and more aggressive. But it didn’t drive them away because they had nowhere to go. Homeless people trying to sleep are no threat to anyone.

“When you are homeless you feel insignificant and a nuisance. Being subjected to that alarm adds an extra layer to those feelings and separates us further from the mainstream world. We bump into that world when we break a rule and are told ‘you can’t do this or you can’t do that’. The alarm is saying no to us again. It is saying no, you aren’t allowed to sleep.”

Another homeless man who has spent nights nearby said he and others were made to feel like “vermin” when subjected to the alarm. The 48-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, is currently in temporary accommodation and posts a blog on Facebook called The Invisible Man: Diary of a Rough Sleeper, where he has written about the alarm.

Before M&S – which has supported the homelessness charity Shelter for many years – made its offer to fund help for local people affected by the issue, he launched a petition calling on the local branch of the store to apologise for the alarm and to make amends by providing food, accommodation, addiction treatment and support getting into work.

“I feel traumatised by that alarm,” he said. “That piercing sound made us feel absolutely rejected as human beings.”

A spokeswoman for Redbridge council, which covers Ilford, said: “The council has engaged with rough sleeping in the area on a number of occasions; however, this has had little impact. Following this outreach work, a community protection notice was issued and enforced to enable use of the loading bay and unblock the exit in case of fire.

“The council were not aware of an alarm; however, we knew that M&S were planning to install physical measures to prevent the rough sleepers returning to the loading bay.

“With the dedicated work of our partners, rough sleepers will continue to receive help and support to assist them. Our partnership working is very effective and by joining forces we are able to address the needs and impacts of rough sleepers in our borough.”