Police break into Hampstead police station to evict squatters
Police enter the former Hampstead police station as squatters begin to come out with suitcases - Credit: Archant
Police have broken into the former Hampstead police station to evict a group of squatters who are refusing to leave the building.
Squatters exit the former Hampstead police station with their belongings, including a wide screen television - Credit: Archant
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.”
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It is understood the squatters wanted more time to move out before a van arrived to move their belongings at 5pm today.
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Squatters take over Hampstead Police Station and vow ‘We’re only here to help protect you’
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