First squatters charged under new law

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Communities and also in Housing, Legal

The first squatters have been removed and charged under new legislation that came into force on Saturday.

Three men were arrested after officers forced entry into a building on Brighton's London Road.

Dirk Duputell, 29, Alistair Cannell, 22, and Tobias Sedwick, 22, all of no fixed address and unemployed, have been charged with squatting in a residential building, abstracting electricity and obstructing a police officer.

The new legislation has turned squatting from a civil matter into a crime that is punishable by up to six months in prison or fines of up to £5,000.

The Guardian reported that three of the people found in the building had glued themselves to a joist in the attic.

The Government has said that the new squatting laws will "put power back into the hands of homeowners".

Meanwhile, a woman in Newchapel, Wales who has squatted in her home for the last 11 years is taking legal action to challenge the new laws. Irene Gardiner, who lives in the cottage with her two teenage children, says she has paid Council Tax since she moved into the property, and has claimed that any attempt to remove her would be a breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, that guarantees a right to a personal and family life.