Police have broken into the former Hampstead police station to evict a group of squatters who are refusing to leave the building.
Officers smashed a window at the back of the police station in Rosslyn Hill after the squatters refused to vacate at 1.35pm today in accordance with a court order.
The squatters say legal papers served by bailiffs yesterday were invalid because they did not include a date and time.
Some of the group came out of the police station annexe, where they have been living since Easter weekend, before the 1.35pm deadline to speak to officers and then hunkered down inside.
When police finally gained access to the building, the squatters began coming out with suitcases.
Their belongings are currently being piled up on grass on the front lawn, including a wide screen television.
One of the group, actor and collage artist Michael Dickinson, 64, who was sleeping rough in a cardboard box in Camden Town before he moved into the squat, said: “What are they going to do with this [the police station]? They’re just going to close it up and we’re homeless again. It’s sin.”
It is understood the squatters wanted more time to move out before a van arrived to move their belongings at 5pm today.
Related stories:
Squatters take over Hampstead Police Station and vow ‘We’re only here to help protect you’
Judge evicts Hampstead Police Station squatters
Bailiffs move in after eviction orders granted for two squats in Hampstead
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