Gang of Romanian migrants evicted after ‘sleeping rough in abandoned cars for EIGHT years’

A GROUP of Romanian migrants who reportedly slept rough inside abandoned vehicles in London for eight years have been evicted.

Officers cleared the camp out from Peckham, south-east London, on Tuesday and removed 28 illegal motors.

No arrests were made but police said 14 migrants had agreed to return to Romania.

The migrants were sleeping in cars at night and would reportedly look for cash-in-hand work during the day.

And local residents had complained about their alleged anti-social behaviour.

One said: “It’s about time. They’ve turned a blind eye to it for years.”

One of the migrants had previously claimed it would take a week working in Romania to earn a day’s pay in Britain, according to the Sun.

He said: “Living in a car is not a great life, but we don’t have any choice. And it’s still better than Romania.”

Many of the vehicles police towed away had reportedly had their windows taped over, or painted black, to block out the morning sun.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "The operation came after numerous complaints from businesses and residents who had regularly been suffering with anti-social behaviour and harassment from people asking passers-by and customers for paid work.

"The operation resulted in 28 vehicles being removed for being on a road without insurance and tax and 14 Romanian nationals electing to return to Romania."

Sergeant Jon Sweatman said the migrants’ presence was having a damaging effect on local businesses.

He said: "Businesses in the area have been suffering from increased anti-social behaviour in the area over the last few months and a number of local business managers approached us during the operation thanking us for tackling the issue."