Homeless woman reveals horrors of life on streets as vulnerable rough sleepers raped and beaten amid crime surge

A homeless woman has described the horrors of life on the streets as new data reveals rough sleepers have have been raped, beaten and robbed amid a surge in crime.

Nuvola Angelini claims she is sexually harassed and propositioned every day in Cambridge, and says she was recently attacked by a group of men.

The 32-year-old, from Italy, said she asked 26 people for help as she fled her attackers, but each one ignored her pleas.

She told Cambridge News that one of the men returned later and asked her for oral sex.

The former Addenbrooke's Hospital worker started sleeping on the streets in May last year after losing her job because of legal problems.

She told her story after shock data revealed a rising number of homeless people are being attacked.

Nineteen crimes against rough sleepers were reported in 2015, increasing to 45 in 2016 and 32 in 2017, according to figures from Cambridgeshire Police.

Of those crimes there were 11 rapes, eight robberies and two kidnappings.

The majority of the crimes were violent offences ranging from common assault.

Other crimes include race hate, threats to kill, theft, assaults with the intention to cause serious harm, several assaults with injury and bike theft.

A number of crimes may have gone unreported, however.

There were just five reported crimes against homeless people in both 2013 and 2014.

Ms Nuvola said she was attacked along with a friend as they slept outside the Metro bank in Sidney Street just before Christmas.

She said: "These five guys walked past and started insulting me and then one of them pushed me. He started kicking me in the legs and spitting in my face. He was hitting me really hard. He hit my friend's face and used a belt on her face.

"I ran up and down really scared and I asked 26 people for help. I know because I counted. They just turned their backs to me and wouldn't help. I asked the taxi drivers for help but they just wound up their windows."

It appeared the incident wasn't reported to police.

Ms Nuvola added: "The police didn't come. This was right in front of the CCTV cameras but nothing was done. Later on one of the men came back and asked if I would give him oral sex for money. I am not a working girl."

She also told how she is sexually harassed every day.

She said: "Every morning, every afternoon and every night men ask me for sex. They are not always drunk either. It doesn't matter what their age. It is a daily thing.

"You just have to stand up for yourself and not show any fear."

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: “We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society so it is concerning to see a rise in recorded crime against homeless people.

"We treat these offences very seriously and will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice and give victims the best possible service.

"It’s also important to note that these figures may reflect a greater confidence among homeless people to report crime to police in the first place, which can only be a good thing.”