‘My state pension was £880

Tony Sinclair has worked all his life – but still found himself sleeping rough at 70. Then even his tent was taken away from him

In a way, 70-year-old Tony Sinclair was lucky to be in his tent on the day last year when the police arrived. The canvas that kept him from the elements ended up in the bin, but, unlike several of his neighbours, he was able to save his most important possessions from going the same way.

On 10 November, he was in Huntley Street in central London, in one of 10 tents pitched in a row next to University College hospital. Officers turned up “demanding my details, name, date of birth. But I stood my ground and refused, because I’d done nothing wrong.” They said they were enforcing a section 35 dispersal order, under powers introduced 10 years ago to target antisocial behaviour. Sinclair thought such an order couldn’t be used to move someone away from their home – “and this was my home”.