Do squatters ever deserve our sympathy?
If your only choice was sleeping rough on the street or squatting in a property which didn't belong to you, which would you choose? With the economic crisis deepening and people facing the very real threat of losing their homes, some are resorting to tactics first made famous more than three decades ago.
Squatting is often associated with anti-establishment types who as a matter of principle decide to live in squatter communities. However I discovered a very different scenario. It's now becoming an option for those who would have never considered it just a few months ago.
The rampant unemployment of the 1970s heralded a wave of squatting as desperate people turned to desperate measures to put a roof over their heads. But in 1994 the squatters were dealt a heavy blow by the Criminal Justice Act which was ushered in by the then Home Secretary Michael Howard and toughened up the laws on such practices. Maybe you were there and have stories of your own to share?
Now however a new form of squatting has emerged. The current recession is hitting some people very hard and faced with the prospect of losing their home people like Terry Armstrong have made the decision to squat in his own house.
But the bailiffs aren't too far away and eviction faces the dwellers who decide to take the law into their own hands in this way.
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Bailiffs - more information
What do you think? With thousands of homes standing empty do you blame the homeless for moving in? Or is there no excuse for such illegal activities, when the rest of us have to pay our mortgages? Share your views.
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