Migrants sleep rough as dream turns sour

Hundreds of migrants who came to London in search of a new life when their countries joined the European Union are sleeping rough after being unable to find work.

Lured by misleading media reports at home, tens of thousands of east European job-seekers flocked to the capital after EU expansion on 1 May.

But today the Evening Standard reveals the harsh life endured by many now stranded in Britain with no jobs nor any prospect of returning.

Some are destitute; others have been robbed or conned by their countrymen. Hundreds sleep rough under bridges and at Victoria coach station - yards from their arrival point.

Most are Polish, and survive on food handouts from Christian charities and donations from London's Polish community. One Polish Londoner said: "They come thinking there is a kiosk on Victoria with a translator who will send them to work. There are no tents, no places to sleep, not one translator.

"These aren't rocket scientists. They speak no English and just give up when they find out what it is like. They are in despair."

A senior Scotland Yard officer said police had noticed a rise in the numberof rough sleepers from Europe. He said: "It is not so much crime, more difficulties in what to do with them. They often don't have money for hotels - we found up to 20 sleeping in squares. We are working with councils to address the problem."

Britain's biggest Polish organisation, the Union of Poles, claims the number of migrants from the country to the UK doubled just after border controls were lifted. But the Polish foreign ministry estimates 8,000 of the 15,000 who came after 1 May have already gone home disillusioned. Many who remain are robbed by fellow migrants. In a bid to escape they sleep in doorways along well-lit Vauxhall Bridge Road and Buckingham Palace Road, or in Belgravia's squares.

Gdansk welder Mirek Krocow, 54, said he suffered a broken jaw and lost teeth when a Russian attacked him at Victoria, stealing his ?180 savings.

He said: "I read that all we needed to do was turn up and we'd find a job. Now I realise how could I do that without any English? I feel lost and cheated. No one from the Polish embassy visits us. My friend went to the consulate and asked for a ticket home. They said, 'Go away, we can't help you'. I live off charity. I feel shame."

Many have fallen victim to Polish conmen. Leszek Grykcow, 46, said: "They put ads in the papers in Poland. They offer a good job in England with no need of English. The person rings a Polish mobile number and pays a 'deposit' of ?79 to ?90. Then he gets a UK mobile number. At Victoria he calls the mobile and pays ?150 to ?200. He receives another number, which doesn't work. You put your trust in them because they are Polish."

Others pay for accommodation, then are taken to towns such as Slough or Reading, and squeezed as many as 13 to a room. After the first week they are told to pay up again, then thrown out.

Next month Westminster council will hold talks with the Home Office over plans to take hundreds home free by bus. A council spokesman said: "We need to get the message across in Poland that if you come, don't assume you are going to walk into a job."

Otherwise migrants risk ending up like Mr Grykcow, who said: " Victoria - for us this place is a defeat rather than a victory. I wish I had never seen it."