A fire broke out at a camp where homeless people have been living near a street in Chalvey on Monday, July 8, authorities confirmed.

The fire broke out at a camp near Seymour Road – where residents say as many as 15 people have been rough sleeping. Slough Borough Council said it found five people living there after the fire and moved them to alternative accommodation.

A spokesperson told the Observer: “The council has been aware of issues here and has previously evicted people from the site.

“Our enforcement team attended the site on Monday where they found about five people living in the area. All those people have been helped by the homeless outreach team and have been moved to alternative accommodation.”

The spokesperson added that the council was working to ‘secure the land’ where the camp was, and would ‘work with any other people found on site.’

Thames Valley Police says it is working with Slough Borough Council and the fire service ‘to ensure the people there are safeguarded.’

A neighbour told the Observer that as many as 15 people had been living in the camp ‘for many months,’ including children. The Observer has been unable to confirm this. Chalvey ward councillor Zaffar Satti said he had no information on the incident or the camp.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said its crews found a fire ‘in the open’ on site after it was reported at 8:40am, and spent roughly two hours and twenty minutes at the scene.