Victoria Street is one of London’s busiest thoroughfares, crowded each day with highly paid commuters rushing to catch trains home to the surrounding counties.
Many stop at nearby bars and restaurants for a drink after work. But for a scruffily dressed man sitting on the pavement, food and refreshments appear to be far from his thoughts.
Instead, he concentrates on packing a short pipe. He pushes material from a paper wrap into the bowl, presses it down and struggles to find a lighter. After finally igniting it, he takes a deep draw before slumping forward, appearing barely conscious.
The grim scene was filmed on Victoria Street early one evening this week, as the surrounding area remained busy with commuters and passers-by.
It offers a stark glimpse into London’s worsening drug problem, where synthetic cannabinoid Spice has become a substance of choice among some of the capital’s rough sleepers.
The Class B drug has become notorious for leaving users almost immediately incapacitated, prompting comparisons with “zombies”. Once associated with troubled inner-city communities in the United States, Spice later spread to Europe and became particularly prevalent in British prisons.
Spice has become a drug of choice for many rough sleepers in London. The Class B substance is notorious for leaving users almost instantly in a zombie-like state.
In central London, rough sleepers are using Spice regularly, with a small amount reportedly available for as little as £3.
At Grosvenor Gardens, male and female rough sleepers were seen climbing over the fence after closing time and using the benches as a drug den. Pictured are unidentified sleepers near Lower Grosvenor Gardens.
Despite its powerful effects, enough Spice to fill a pipe like the one used on Victoria Street can reportedly be bought for as little as £3.
During a patrol of Westminster this week, we saw evidence that the drug is being used widely across the area.
At nearby Grosvenor Gardens, a group of male and female rough sleepers climbed over the perimeter fence after the gardens had closed. They then gathered around the benches, turning the secluded spot into an open-air drug den.
Inside, they prepared similar-looking pipes and passed them between one another, taking turns to smoke.
Almost at once, one man bent forward and appeared unable to move as the drug’s effects took hold.
Elsewhere, two men were found slumped in a pub doorway after what appeared to be a hit. Nearby, two others moved slowly and aimlessly, behaviour that has helped fuel the drug’s zombie-like reputation.
Those caught in the cycle are often deeply resistant to offers of support. Some respond angrily, while others retreat when offered a safe, clean bed for the night.
Claire Dunn, of Westminster Council’s public protection team, said Spice’s availability at an exceptionally low price had made the problem even more difficult to tackle.
“People can get a small amount for around £3,” she said. “If a group can raise £30, they can often buy it more cheaply because dealers offer discounts on larger quantities.
“That means the cycle of supply and demand simply continues.”
She said the consequences of the drug’s use can be horrific.
‘You see people slumped on the floor. They have been sick on themselves. Sometimes we have seen people who have urinated or defecated on themselves because they have lost control of their bodily functions.
‘Sometimes people look as though they are not breathing. They are not moving and they are not communicating.’
The Daily Mail joined Westminster Council members, enforcement specialists and outreach workers on a walk through Victoria to see the problem first-hand.
Even before the patrol began, the scale of the challenge was impossible to miss.
A woman was spotted squatting against the side of Westminster City Hall, using the council’s own headquarters as a toilet before wandering away in an apparent daze.
Just yards away, another rough sleeper was dozing in a tent directly outside the building.
‘When you don’t tackle things quickly, they fester,’ Councillor Caroline Sargent, Westminster’s deputy leader and cabinet member for enforcement. ‘That is why we are trying to do something about this.’
Ms Sargent said Conservative-run Westminster is trying to tackle homelessness but often encounters reluctance from the very people they are trying to help.
She said: ‘Around Victoria, for example, there is a cohort of people with very complex needs, often involving addiction, who have been offered a great deal of support.
‘Some repeatedly refuse that support and remain on the street, where we see antisocial behaviour including public defecation, urination and open drug use.
‘That has a real impact on residents and businesses.
‘What we want people to understand is that this is not always simply a homelessness problem. Some of the people involved actually have accommodation available to them, including hostel places.’
As the patrol moved towards nearby Grosvenor Gardens, several men were slumped against a wall appearing to smoke drugs.
Council enforcement officers approached to check what was happening and one of them threw their paraphernalia over the fence into locked gardens.
The problem with Spice, according to a representative from Westminster Council, is its low price – with it costing less than a cup of coffee
One rough sleeper, 31, originally from Bedford, gave a harrowing account of his experience as a Spice user.
He told us: ‘When I can’t even muster a few quid I’ve often sat on the pavement scavenging up bits of Spice and ash just so I can smoke whatever is left. That’s how desperate it gets.
‘I’ve been so desperate for it that dignity just disappears. You’ll beg, borrow, search the floor, whatever it takes.
‘Every time you take it, it can be different. Sometimes it feels amazing but it can also be horrible. I have seen spiders everywhere, or heard voices, or thought I was going to die.
MUST READ: Israeli Journalist Ephraim Mordechai Arrested – NewsFinale
‘I developed a nervous tic after using it. My speech also started to go.
‘You start telling yourself “This is the last one” – but then an hour later you’re trying to find money for another hit.
‘I’ve used heroin before as well, and Spice can be just as hard to off as that is – you tell yourself you’re going to stop, but then you wake up and you’re looking for it again.’
Councillors say Spice is frequently adulterated with other substances – creating ‘Frankenstein’ concoctions so users may have little idea what they are actually taking.
Supplying the addicts often involves a growing number of naive and exploited young people, referred to as ‘runners’.
Ms Dunn said: ‘They are usually young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are told, “Take this, sell £500 worth and we’ll give you £50”.
‘We have had a number of them arrested over the last six months and by the very next day there is a new runner out on the street.
‘For these kids it looks like easy money, but they are being targeted and exploited.’
In one recent case, she said, a 17-year-old boy was found with around 50 wraps of heroin and cocaine in his mouth when stopped by police.
From Grosvenor Gardens, the patrol continued towards Westminster Cathedral where a soup kitchen is run and around a dozen homeless people have gathered to eat.
But Cllr Sargent said even well-meaning initiatives like this can create unintended problems.
‘While people understandably think they are doing something kind by handing out food and hot meals, many of the people coming here need far more help than that.
‘They have complex health needs and addictions.
‘It can also bring people together in one place and, unfortunately, that can attract drug dealers as well.’
One rough sleeper, Paola, 49, said she herself avoids Victoria at night because of the danger posed by other homeless people and dealers.
She said: ‘I come here to eat. But I never stay overnight. It’s too dangerous.’
Cllr Sargent said Westminster wanted a tougher response where persistent antisocial behaviour followed offers of support – and the next recourse should be police action.
But officer numbers, she said, were a major problem.
Paola, who has been rough sleeping for four years, said she leaves Victoria at night because of the danger posed by other homeless people and dealers
It is thought Spice is now a bigger draw for many rough sleepers than physical comfort and security
‘Last summer, when things became particularly difficult, some charities felt they could not properly do their jobs because their own outreach workers did not feel safe,’ she said.
‘Having a police presence makes a huge difference. The problem is that there simply are not enough officers.’
Councillor David Harvey echoed the fears, saying local officers are often pulled away to demonstrations and other duties.
‘We have some really good officers, but only a tiny number of them,’ he said.
‘I think quite often the police have not felt backed. Officers can feel that if they take a more assertive approach towards disruptive homeless people, they may end up getting into trouble for it.’
The council itself has much more limited powers.
Despite the outrage of many Londoners, its enforcement officers cannot simply physically remove somebody from the pavement.
‘People have to remember that council officers are not police officers,’ Cllr Sargent said.
‘The police can physically detain somebody and arrest them if necessary. Council officers cannot simply pick someone up and remove them.’
The legal backdrop has also shifted following the repeal of the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act in June, ending the old blanket criminalisation of rough sleeping and begging in favour of more targeted powers aimed at harmful behaviour.
Meanwhile, Councillor Festus Akinbusoye, deputy cabinet member for enforcement and a former Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, told of a visiting professor friend from California who had been shocked by the amount of visible drug use in London.
Westminster Council recorded 293 rough sleepers across the borough in their latest count. In Victoria alone, 61 people were marked as homeless
The comparison was particularly striking given the notorious scenes of open drug addiction in cities such as San Francisco.
He said: ‘It’s just really sad, you know, the case of homelessness in general.’
The council’s latest September count recorded 293 rough sleepers across the borough – 6 per cent fewer than at the same time last year.
In Victoria alone, 61 people were recorded. Of those, 48 were identified and engaged with outreach teams, while 13 – more than one in five – were unidentified or would not engage. Five were already subject to enforcement action, the council said.
Council officials estimate that between 10 and 20 per cent of rough sleepers approached by outreach teams will reject the help being offered.
Spice is now a bigger draw for many of them than physical comfort and security, it seems.
The Mayor’s Office was contacted for comment.