And After Bournemouth, Southend..?

Cllr John Beesley wants to stop the town’s taxpayers from having to “carry the burden” of helping those who relocate to the resort with nowhere to live. Speaking at a Poole Hill Neighbourhood Watch meeting, Cllr Beesley said: “For too long, Bournemouth has been seen as a nice place for homeless people to come to and be sent to.

“We need to look after people and make sure we don’t have to carry the burden of other local authorities at the same time.”

Hurrah! Long overdue.

Please can some Southend councillors adopt the same policy? Then maybe I won't be hassled for money while walking down the High Street..

He added: “If they have not got a local connection, we look after them temporarily and look at getting them in a position to get them back to where they came from and make sure their local authority is aware of that and get to the point of taking on their responsibility.”

I applaud you.

And, for once, I disagree with Al Jahom and a lot of the Tweeters who boarded the Outrage! Bus over this police action in Redbridge:

Police swooped on the homeless, grabbing sleeping bags and food parcels donated by the public, in co-ordinated raids around the borough.

Adam Jaskowiak was one of the men targeted and said he pleaded with police to be able to keep his things but was ignored. He was sleeping with eight other people finding shelter for the night in the former Ilford Baths in High Road, Ilford.

Rousting our undesirables and running them out of town is what we expect the police to do, isn't it? Far better they do this, than policing freedom of speech or unauthorised cheese-rolling!

And as the police statement points out, the story given by the interviewees might be a touch embellished:

Police entered and a man and a woman, who are not as named in the Ilford Recorder article, were found. Police spoke with them and they left with their sleeping bags and personal possessions. No items were seized by police. Local authority staff cleared up drug paraphernalia, a soiled gym mattress, rotting food and other rubbish from the location.

Gosh! Who'd have thought a street dosser might not have told the unvarnished truth?

An unoccupied tent with a sleeping bag inside was found on a gravestone, a note was left for the owner to remove it within one week. StreetScene staff assisted in the removal of rubbish from the bushes, including two soiled sleeping bags. These abandoned items, which were considered a health hazard, and the other rubbish, were placed in a bin lorry. Police also visited a local supermarket car park and spoke to a woman, who was sleeping in an alcove of a nearby building; nothing was taken from her.

The police are unrepentant about their actions. And for once, they are right to be so.

“I am committed to Partnership working to tackle the problem of homelessness, and street drinking in Redbridge. But at the same time police will deal with criminal offences anti-social behaviour that makes the public feel unsafe.”

Three cheers for Redbridge Police! Now, have a word with your Essex colleagues, eh?

H/T: Ant via Twitter