Squatter becomes instant millionaire
‘A homeless pensioner who has slept rough in one of London’s plushest beauty spots since 1986 was celebrating on Thursday after winning ownership of his plot of land, turning him into an instant millionaire.
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 a former nursing home.
A building developer had tried unsuccessfully to evict Hallowes from his makeshift shack since March 2005 as it sought to transform the building into luxury flats.
The feisty 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 thus could claim the land as his own.’
