Residents demand action over homeless squatters

RESIDENTS are calling for action over a group of homeless people who have taken up residence in an abandoned building on the Paseo Maritimo in Torrevieja, 15 meters from a children’s playground.

Their mattresses are visible from the street, garbage is accumulating inside and they do their business inside the same structure.

The fencing surrounding the half-constructed building has been pulled down, making everything clearly visible from the street. The adjacent playground which used to buzz with activity due to its closeness to the beach is virtually empty, even on weekends.

Parents are worried that their children could catch a disease, step on broken glass or even a needle in the grass if they play in the playground and so are choosing play areas farther away. Restaurants and entertainment venues complain that their clients cannot use their terraces due to the smell.

It seems that police forces are doing nothing about the situation because the homeless people could be seen as squatters, despite the building not having any walls and located in the city centre.