London roundabout has become homeless encampment for people who travelled to UK for a better life

Hidden underneath one of London's busiest roads, a small collection of tents can be seen dotted between the large concrete supports holding up the elevated Westway dual carriageway. Apart from the traffic roaring overhead, the encampment, on the A404 roundabout under the A40 in Paddington, seems relatively peaceful in daylight, but night time brings fear and wariness for the people who call it home.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited, some of the rough sleepers said they'd been living there for two or even three years - a symptom of a housing crisis that's seen street homelessness extended to those who have previously been settled in rented homes.

But it's also the cold, hard reality for some who have travelled thousands of miles to get to the UK for a better life. Sham, 36, has lived at the roundabout for three years and said he is so afraid of being attacked that he barely sleeps at night.

READ MORE: Londoners in tight election seat use private healthcare and say Tories should 'get house in order'

He said: "It's very dangerous. Anyone can come over and hurt us." Sham sleeps on a wooden crate he shares with two other men, which he said becomes unbearable in winter.

He said: "It's very cold. Sometimes you don't feel the cold. You lie to yourself and say 'man, I want to sleep'."

The 36-year-old, who said he is a qualified fire safety engineer, described becoming homeless when his landlord in East London kicked him out four years ago. He said he can't work or receive benefits because he doesn't have an address and claims he is waiting on Westminster City Council to find him a suitable flat.

The council said though it cannot comment on individual cases, it does operate an outreach service for those sleeping rough and offers housing and support. Sham doesn't want his mother to find out he is homeless and so had asked us not to reveal his surname.

He arrived in the UK five years ago with the help of people smugglers and claims to be registered with the Home Office. He left his home in central-eastern Yemen in 2017 because of the civil war, which had taken his uncle's life.

Desperate to leave, Sham paid people smugglers $3,000 (£2,350) to get him out. He trekked through Turkey and the forests of Greece until he arrived in Calais, France, where he waited three months to cross the English Channel and was eventually picked up by British coastguards.

But Sham said life in the UK is hard. He said: "I believe in this life sometimes [it goes] up and sometimes it goes down. This is an experience in life and I feel sometimes I'm better off than other people. Some people can't walk."

He added: "I have faith that everything will be okay." Sham also had advice for those who have never slept rough: "I think if someone sleeps in this place they will understand what's the meaning of life."

Rita Caso-McKay, 66, and her daughter Jayc, 39, said they've been living rough since November. They were kicked out of Paddington Station and are now in tents near the motorway.

Despite her situation, Rita remains talkative. Her English is impeccable, and so is Jayc's. Rita tells MyLondon she moved to the UK from France after losing her home in a 'scam'.

Jayc said she moved to spend time with her dad and worked in finance before becoming homeless. Rita said she volunteers at a sanctuary for homeless women, which she also uses.

Both said they can't apply for housing until they get new IDs, which they claim were stolen while they were camped in Paddington Station. Rita lives in one tent while her daughter and partner Damir, who comes from Kyrgyzstan, sleep in another single-person tent in the shadow of million-pound Victorian terraced housing.

She said she is pestered at night by drug dealers and keeps her distance from the other rough sleepers - a point echoed by Sham. She claims another rough sleeper can be aggressive and is known to throw things out of the tent.

She said: "In any situation, we have to adapt. If you don't adapt you don't survive. You have to let go of the past and live in the present. I cannot think that I once lived in a flat. I see a lot of people living in the past and they drink and take drugs. They can't cope with it and that's why."

Luca Sebhltu, 45, claims he's waiting to move into a hotel. He struggles to answer our questions coherently but said he's been living on the roundabout for two years and is a qualified chef. He said his family is originally from Ethiopia and that he previously lived in Italy.

Mohamed, 28, moved to the encampment four days before speaking to us. He said he was recently released from Brixton prison and previously lived in West Ealing. He said is waiting on Ealing Council to find him housing. The council said Mohamed has not been identified as a rough sleeper by its outreach team.

Mohamed said he is a mechanic by trade and left his homeland of Sudan in 2014. He worked in Libya for a few years before making his way to the UK.

The LDRS understands the site has long been a haven for rough sleepers and that some rough sleepers have been offered housing but find their way back to the street in an area where buying a home is out of reach even for people who feel financially comfortable.

Figures by RightMove show Paddington had an overall average house price of £1,363,001 over the last year. A three-bed home on St Mary’s Terrace, which runs parallel to the roundabout, costs £1.1m. East, on North Wharf Road, a three-bed flat costs just over £2m, according to Zoopla.

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: "Our teams work tirelessly to help people who are homeless. We are unable to comment on individual circumstances, however we operate a proactive outreach service, which works to identify people sleeping rough, assess their needs and offer housing and support and with landowners to manage unauthorised encampments.

"We are aware of a number of individuals at this location, and we continue to offer outreach and opportunities to move on. Everyone we come into contact with is provided with a range of options based on their individual needs, which can include, access to support around immigration, access to health services, welfare and benefit advice and accommodation offers to end their rough sleeping and move away from the streets."

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: "After carefully assessing Mohamed's case, we found him to not be in priority need and referred him to the Somewhere Safe to Stay service."

This referral was accepted in January but Mohamed was later evicted due to his own actions, the council said. He was then jailed and the council deemed him 'intentionally homeless' after his release so it has discharged its duty of care to him.

The council is engaging with his probation officer about his previous application, it said, adding: "The council takes its homelessness responsibilities seriously and applies homelessness legislation and the government's code of guidance to each case during the assessment process."

Want more from MyLondon? Sign up to our daily newsletters for all the latest and greatest from across London here