Squatters with “large dogs” have moved into an empty magistrates’ court and police station due for redevelopment.

Haringey Magistrates’ Court in Bishops Road, Highgate, has lain empty since December 2012 when it was closed by the Ministry of Justice following a round of cuts.

It is thought the squatters moved into the derelict building with at least two “large-sounding dogs” over the weekend.

The squatters are the second group to break into the building in four months since residential developers Bellway Homes erected tall hoardings around the former court in May.

They have put up a notice on a side gate in Church Road informing passers by of their legal rights.

Crime novelist Matthew Baylis, of Bishops Road, said: “I stopped to read it, and two large-sounding dogs were barking and hurling themselves at the gate.”

He added: “It’s not a particularly comforting thought. My main concern is that they don’t seem to be able to secure that site.

“They gave gone round and boarded it up and still, people have got in.”

Bellway Homes lodged a controversial planning application with Haringey Council in August to redevelop the court as a seven-storey tower fronting Archway Road.

The developers did not respond to a request for comment.