London: Near the Heathrow airport, underneath a motorway flyover dwells "Little Punjab", a squalid community of illegal immigrants including Indians, who came here to fulfil their dreams but were reduced to a slum-life, according to a media report.
More than 30 of them can often be found there, in full view of pedestrians and traffic on the road that passes under the bridge M4 sending vibrations through to the ground underneath, and less than 20 yards from the nearest houses.
They are known as the Bridge Men of Heston. It's a breathtaking snapshot of what happens when dreams of forging a better life in Britain turn sour.
The police, the UK Border Agency and local authorities have long been aware of the Bridge Men of Little Punjab, which takes its nickname from Southall, widely known as Britain's Little India.
Although most Bridge Men are thought to be illegal immigrants, some are known to have come to Britain legally with visas which have since expired.
Some find food at the Sikh temple, which provides meals for up to 1,000 needy people a day. Others simply wander the streets.
One neighbour, who has lived in the area for more than half a century and can see the bridge from her window, complained to Heston Residents' Association about piles of rubbish building up around the site, and regularly sees young men "moping around half drunk," as she put it.
More than 30 of them can often be found there, in full view of pedestrians and traffic on the road that passes under the bridge M4 sending vibrations through to the ground underneath, and less than 20 yards from the nearest houses.
They are known as the Bridge Men of Heston. It's a breathtaking snapshot of what happens when dreams of forging a better life in Britain turn sour.
The police, the UK Border Agency and local authorities have long been aware of the Bridge Men of Little Punjab, which takes its nickname from Southall, widely known as Britain's Little India.
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Although most Bridge Men are thought to be illegal immigrants, some are known to have come to Britain legally with visas which have since expired.
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Some find food at the Sikh temple, which provides meals for up to 1,000 needy people a day. Others simply wander the streets.
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One neighbour, who has lived in the area for more than half a century and can see the bridge from her window, complained to Heston Residents' Association about piles of rubbish building up around the site, and regularly sees young men "moping around half drunk," as she put it.
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