Seventy-year-old Harry Hallowes was evicted from his Highgate council flat back in 1987 but, keen to remain in the area, he moved onto the heath, building a little shack and squatting there ever since. Recently he's been in a court battle with developers Dwyer, pitting his own squatter's rights (which kick in after 12 years) against their plans to build houses on the disputed plot of land. He won; which may mean (and this isn't yet confirmed by the Land Registry) that he also wins deeds to the piece land, with an estimated value of £2m. A happy ending? A prime plot of land saved from an evil developer by a nature-respecting freedom-lover without a thought for the lucre? Don't hold your breath:

[Hallowes] added: "I won't be having a bird sanctuary or anything like that. Maybe I'll build myself a house to live in – everybody else around here seems to love building houses!"

[via the Telegraph]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate