Shocking scale of violence faced by the homeless: More than half of rough sleepers have been attacked, 46% had their belongings vandalised and nearly one in five urinated on

• McDonald’s security guard mopped the pavement around a man on December 9
• David Davis stepped in to stop two men attacking homeless man on December 12

Rough sleepers in Britain have been physically attacked, verbally abused, had bricks and cans thrown at them and even been urinated on, a major survey has revealed.

Some 75 per cent have had belongings stolen; 72 per cent have been verbally abused or harassed; 61 per cent threatened with violence or intimidated; 53 per cent had things thrown at them; and 51 per cent attacked physically, according to Crisis.

The homelessness charity’s study also found 46 per cent have had their belongings deliberately damaged and 18 per cent had someone urinating on them or near them.

And the study revealed the person responsible for the most recent incident suffered by the rough sleeper was a member of the public in 70 per cent of cases.

Other perpetrators included security guards, business owners and fellow rough sleepers. It comes after McDonald’s apologised when a security guard was filmed mopping the pavement around a homeless person in London on December 9.

Footage showed the guard soaking the ground in Victoria where the man, Aaron McCarthy, 25, had been sitting. The rough sleeper said ‘Leave me alone’ before the guard kicked a blanket out of the way and splashed more water along the pavement.

Last week Conservative MP and former minister David Davis told how he stepped in to stop two men attacking a homeless man named Gareth near Parliament.

Aaron McCarthy, 25, was sitting outside a Nationwide bank branch next door to a McDonald’s on Victoria Street in London on December 12 when a security guard soaked his sleeping bag

Footage filmed in the Victoria area of London showed the security guard soaking the ground where Aaron McCarthy had been sitting, with the rough sleeper saying ‘Leave me alone’ before the guard kicked a blanket out of the way and splashed more water along the pavement

Conservative MP and former minister David Davis stepped in to stop two men attacking a homeless man – named only as Gareth (pictured) – near Parliament on December 12

Former Brexit secretary David Davis intervened after seeing a ‘spray of blood’ as the attackers kicked the homeless man’s head on Great Peter Street in Westminster on December 12 at 11pm

Rough sleepers in Britain have been physically attacked and verbally abused, Crisis found

The former Brexit secretary intervened after seeing a ‘spray of blood’ as the attackers kicked the man’s head on Great Peter Street on December 12 at 11pm.

READ MORE Homeless man, 25, whose sleeping bag was soaked with water and ‘bleach’ by McDonald’s security guard says it left him feeling ‘like I was no one’ as he reveals he will be spending Christmas on the streets

The 74-year-old politician, who is a former SAS reservist, put himself between Gareth and the pair before scuffling with one of them. He let the man spend the night on his sofa at his nearby flat and took him to hospital the following morning.

More than half (51 per cent) of people sleeping rough have been physically attacked, the Crisis survey suggested.

The charity spoke to 156 people in late summer who had rough sleeping experience within the previous two years, and were in contact with homeless services in England.

Crisis also undertook 20 in-depth interviews alongside the survey.

They found that 90 per cent of those spoken to had experienced some form of violence or abuse.

Three-quarters had had items stolen, while 72 per cent had suffered verbal abuse or harassment.

More than half (53 per cent) had something thrown at them during their time on the street, with examples including bricks and beer cans, while 61 per cent said they had been threatened with violence or intimidated.

Official Government figures gave a snapshot of the situation on the streets, showing that there were estimated to be 3,069 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2022

Crisis says a lack of access to healthcare means that health conditions worsen on the street

Those sleeping rough are some of the most isolated and lonely people in society, Crisis said

64% said they felt that their situation that they were afraid for their lives or that they might die

More than a quarter had been racially abused, harassed, or attacked (27 per cent), while almost a fifth (18 per cent) had been urinated on, and nine of those who responded said they had been sexually assaulted.

READ MORE Who dares wins! Tory ex-SAS reservist David Davis tells how he stopped two thugs attacking homeless man near Parliament as he dodged punches, acted ‘aggressively’ and ‘manhandled’ one – but didn’t hit back because he feared he might kill them

Official figures published by the Government earlier this year gave a snapshot of the situation on the streets, showing that there were estimated to be 3,069 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2022.

Crisis said its survey findings come as it prepares to open the doors of its annual Christmas services, aiming to offer ‘support, dignity, advice and – vitally – kindness to people experiencing the worst forms of homelessness’.

This year, the charity said it will be supporting more than 590 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough across London, while the organisation said it will be helping more than 7,000 people over the festive period.

Chief executive Matt Downie said: ‘None of us should have to endure the hardship and inhumanity of rough sleeping, yet far too many people are living in fear and being subjected to abuse and harassment simply because they do not have a home.

‘It was only three years ago during the pandemic that we made tremendous efforts to bring people off the streets.

‘Now, with cost-of-living pressures acute and rents still unaffordable for so many of us, we are seeing ever-increasing numbers of people being pushed into homelessness, many ending up sleeping rough.’

Crisis has asked people to support its work helping rough sleepers by clicking here

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