Professor Green has filmed his friend ripping ‘anti-homeless’ bars from park benches in Bournemouth in a protest against rough sleeping.
The artist felt compelled to travel to the seaside town after the local council installed the curved steel bars to the middle of its benches to make it impossible for somebody to lie down.
The move, described as a ‘design against humanity’, is the latest in a string of contentious tactics by bureaucrats to rid the tourist town of homeless people.
Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, visited Bournemouth on Thursday with TV upcycler Max McMurdo to remove one of the iron bars from a town centre bench.
Taking a stand: Rapper Professor Green (left) travelled to Bournemouth to protest against the council’s methods of reducing rough sleepers. He filmed his friend (right) creating a temporary shelter out of a park bench
In its place the pair fitted a much larger curved bar, that cost £18.50, to the bench and draped a waterproof tarpaulin over it to turn the seat into a makeshift tent for the homeless.
They showed their creation to passers-by and homeless people who approved.
The public protest drew the attention of the police but no action was taken as the pair returned the bench to how they found it.
Professor Green said: ‘Bournemouth – we hope we’ve helped you realise the full potential of your benches.
‘At a cost of £18.50 they can become something that provides shelter for people who don’t otherwise have it, rather than pushing them out and making them feel even less welcome than they already do.
‘Why don’t you think of solutions for homelessness instead of solutions for pushing them further out and for hiding the problem?’
Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, visited Bournemouth on Thursday with TV upcycler Max McMurdo to remove one of the iron bars from a town centre bench (pictured)
Bournemouth council has recieved widespread criticism for the bench bars but still maintain the fitted them in response to complaints from shop owners about customers being unable to sit down as people were lying on them
Earlier this week Professor Green, 34, took to social media to criticise Bournemouth Borough Council after they modified their benches in a ‘hostile’ move against the homeless.
The Read All About It star said: ‘Anti Homeless benches in Bournemouth. What’s the message here?
‘Hey you poor sods with no safety net – you better really hope life doesn’t throw any s**t at you now! And god forbid you make a bad life decision! Cause you won’t have the ‘comfort’ of this bench to sleep on! Ha!’
‘Again, nothing done to tackle the problem, just something to make it more invisible so we can pretend it isn’t happening.’
A spokesman for Dorset Police said although officers were called to the protest no criminal offence had taken place.
Bournemouth council has recieved widespread criticism for the bench bars but still maintain the fitted them in response to complaints from shop owners about customers being unable to sit down as people were lying on them.
A council spokesman said: ‘We are disappointed that musician Professor Green declined to meet our Housing Services Team whilst on his visit to Bournemouth.
‘We would have welcomed the opportunity to speak to him about the multi-agency work that goes on to prevent homelessness, and the support we provide to rough sleepers.
‘This service is a key part of our homelessness provision and has been in place for many years. The team engage with rough sleepers to encourage take up of support services and accommodation to help move forward in their lives.
‘We would also like to clarify the work carried out on the benches was undertaken in response to multiple complaints made by residents, visitors and businesses concerned over the use of the benches.’