Streatham News
Squatters evicted after shooting
2:26pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
A group of squatters have been evicted from a house which neighbours claim had become a hub for crime and antisocial behaviour, including a recent shooting.
Police and council officers forced ten people to leave the house in Ranger Mansions, Jasper Road, on February 9 following complaints.
Those living near the squat next to Crystal Palace Park had already reported a nightmare of all-night raves, drug misuse and antisocial behaviour, including squatters defecating in a nearby car park.
But calls for the eviction intensified after a man was injured in a shooting on Saturday, January 28.
Lambeth Council subsequently obtained a court order to force the squatters to leave and called in Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) from Lambeth and Croydon police to assist with the eviction. On the same day, a further thirteen people were made to leave a house in nearby Farquhar Road, Gipsy Hill.
Sergeant Lee-Ann Mills of Gypsy Hill SNT said: “This demonstrates that local people have a voice and by working in partnership with the Council and the Crystal Palace Triangle SNT, we have resolved the problem.”
Councillor Lib Peck, cabinet member for housing, said: “The occupants at Ranger Mansions had absolutely no right to be there.
"We are tough on squatters and we removed them as soon as we had court orders to do so”.