Migrants putting on rags before begging on billionaires' row

MIGRANTS squatting in Park Lane are changing into threadbare clothes to beg for cash on the UK’s poshest street, the Express can reveal.

- By Zak Garner-Purkis Investigations Editor

It has long been claimed that the “tent cities” established opposite London’s £2,000-a-night Dorchester Hotel have been used as a base for an organised Romanian group, which monopolises the most lucrative begging spots.

During a visit to the “billionaires’ row” camp, the Express spoke to two homeless men who said they witnessed briefings where beggars were handed placards and told where to go.

One rough sleeper from Northern Ireland claimed a Romanian group occupied swathes of Mayfair, making it almost impossible for other nationalities to beg.

We saw a man change into rags and huddle under a blanket opposite The Ritz, before pleading for cash.

Playing on a mobile phone and smoking cigarettes, he left the squat at around 10am wearing a flat cap and warm jacket and carrying heavy bags and a walking stick tucked under his arm.

The man ducked into a side street where he pulled on a ragged jacket and an ill-fitting beanie hat.

He then sat beside a phone box with a pre-written sign saying: “I am very hungry, God bless you.”

He had a coffee cup and positioned the walking stick across his legs. He initially struggled to collect change from passers-by, so he switched his position, pulling a blanket around his legs.