Squatter becomes millionaire land owner
AFP May 24
LONDON (AFP) - A homeless pensioner who has slept rough in one of London's most treasured beauty spots since 1986 was celebrating Thursday after the Land Registry granted him the deeds to his million-pound plot of land.
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Harry Hallowes, 71, secured ownership to a 800 square-metre plot in Hampstead Heath, after a two-year legal battle with developers who tried to evict the pensioner from the grounds of Athalone House.
Dwyer Asset Management had tried unsuccessfully to evict Hallowes from his makeshift shack since March 2005 as it sought to redevelop the former nursing home into luxury flats.
The fiesty pensioner dug his heels in and consulted lawyers who provided evidence which showed that he had been living unchallenged on the plot for 21 years, and this became the basis for his claim to the land.
"Someone mentioned a million and someone else said two million, but I'm not impressed with figures. I just wanted a place to live," a very composed Hallowes said after hearing the news.
Hallowes, who counts Monty Python star Terry Gilliam among his friends, laughed that he might now build himself a bigger residence.
"Maybe I'll build myself a house -- everyone else around here seems to love building houses," he said.
LONDON (AFP) - A homeless pensioner who has slept rough in one of London's most treasured beauty spots since 1986 was celebrating Thursday after the Land Registry granted him the deeds to his million-pound plot of land.
(Advertisement)
Harry Hallowes, 71, secured ownership to a 800 square-metre plot in Hampstead Heath, after a two-year legal battle with developers who tried to evict the pensioner from the grounds of Athalone House.
Dwyer Asset Management had tried unsuccessfully to evict Hallowes from his makeshift shack since March 2005 as it sought to redevelop the former nursing home into luxury flats.
The fiesty pensioner dug his heels in and consulted lawyers who provided evidence which showed that he had been living unchallenged on the plot for 21 years, and this became the basis for his claim to the land.
"Someone mentioned a million and someone else said two million, but I'm not impressed with figures. I just wanted a place to live," a very composed Hallowes said after hearing the news.
Hallowes, who counts Monty Python star Terry Gilliam among his friends, laughed that he might now build himself a bigger residence.
"Maybe I'll build myself a house -- everyone else around here seems to love building houses," he said.
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The Robin Hood scenario, steal from the successful and give to the poor![:0] 0 -
Maybe there is hope for a poor old country boy like me! Beats huffing paint for a living. 0 -
There are similar "squatter rights" throughout most of the United States, except most places you don't have to actually live on the land and it goes into effect after seven years. It's a dirty deal for the landowner.
The Robin Hood scenario, steal from the successful and give to the poor deadbeat.0 -
I bet he would trade it for a bright brand new shopping cart full of aluminum cans and a case of thunderbird ripple. 0
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