Life in one of London's biggest homeless encampments as 'zombie' drug runs rampant

Rough sleeper David Dewan, 56, said that London's homeless community is being sold synthetic drugs under the guise of cocaine and crack, which is turning them into "zombies"

Sitting in the shadow of an iconic theatre lies one of London's largest homeless camps, which some residents claim is currently overrun by "zombie" drug addicts.

A man living at the encampment beside the Grade II listed Adelphi Theatre on the Strand in Westminster, who asked to be named only as Eric, spoke in front of the Grade II listed building - which has premiered countless famous shows, including some of Charles Dickens' play adaptations back in the 1800s. The 45-year-old claimed the Adelphi owners are only "tolerant" of the camp "for show".

He said that due to having health problems, "every now and then, they put me inside because of the weather conditions. It is for two or three days, and then I'm out again". Eric, who has been living outside the Adelphi for more than a year, said the 10 tents that remain are just a fraction of the larger "village" that surrounded the theatre. At one time, there were 25 tents, he claimed.

During a subsequent visit to the encampment, MyLondon spoke to a man named David Dewan, 56, who was squatting on the floor with bags containing his possessions, rolling cigarettes. He claimed to have been kicked out of his flat in 2021.

Since then, he has not had a permanent home. Mr Dewan, who says he grew up in care and is from Hanworth originally, said he "moves around" and he can 'look after himself'. "It's not a good environment to be around people that are constantly drinking all the time, because it just doesn't do you any good," he added.

Mr Dewan, who "smokes a bit of weed", added that drug problems have lately got "a million times" worse. He said: "This spice stuff at the moment, they're all smoking. Not only that, it's different. It's a different formula out there now for whatever it is they're doing."

It "blanks everything from them", he added. "The drugs have been changed into something else. They're making this new formula that they call cocaine, and it ain't cocaine. And then, this stuff they're calling crack isn't crack. So they've got these formulas, a lot of synthetic stuff.

"Because what's going on is you've got a law saying 'this chemical formula's not allowed'. So they're getting round it by making another formula that does the same trick, but it's a different formula." He went on to say that this has "got a lot worse" in the last three years.

"Literally, you see them in the morning when they've woken up, and you see them and they've smoked all that s***, and they're like zombies," he said. He added that addiction services are "put under pressure, so they don't have the ability to help people in the way that they need it."

In order to feed their addiction, people are "robbing" possessions of other rough sleepers, Mr Dewan said, such as mobile phones and cards. He has had stuff "nicked" out of his bag, and a tent stolen. "There's people that even come into London especially to rob the homeless," he added.

"Because a lot of them have got smart phones. They've all got this background story; people are married or whatever. So some of them have got stuff. And when they come here, they're targeted for it. I would have been a perfect target had I not grown up in the world I grew up in."

Speaking about Mayor Sadiq Khan's promise to end homelessness in the country's capital, Mr Dewan was cynical. He said: "I think they'll do what they did for the Olympics. They'll make the figures while he's still in office, if he is still in office, look like he's done it. But as soon as the Olympics were over, all the people that they housed to get them off the street to make London look a little bit more presentable were chucked out before they had the right to have the place given to them."

He added: "This whole system needs to be broken down and stopped. The elite that are running this place like a game need to be seen for what they are, that's all it is." When challenged over the level of homelessness in London, Sadiq Khan said: "First of all, thanks to MyLondon for speaking to rough sleepers and giving them the dignity of having their voices heard, which is incredibly important."

He added: "In London, we know there's been an increase in rough sleeping. We also know that, since 2016, we've increased by more than fourfold City Hall's rough sleeping budget. And that's enabled us to take off our streets 17,600 people sleeping rough. Those aren't just numbers, those are people who've been taken off our streets."

The Mayor added that the GLA has funded wrap around care for those with drug or alcohol dependencies or mental health problems. "I do hold the previous government responsible for a lot of these challenges," he then said, suggesting that homelessness across the country has increased since 2010 because of 'underinvestment'.

MyLondon contacted the Adelphi Building and was told that the area was the responsibility of Westminster City Council. Cllr Aicha Less, Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection said: "The reasons people live on the street are complex and include family breakdown, evictions, affordability. Some people, who may be traumatised, present to services with a range of needs. Whatever the causes, this is not a safe place to camp and the welfare of people staying there is a significant concern."