Squatter becomes millionaire landowner after lengthy legal b

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Squatter becomes millionaire landowner after lengthy legal battle

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.

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.

Linky - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/2007...ritain-squatter-land-a7ad41d.html

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