'Bailiffs come and go but the horrible people won't leave'

A FAMILY told today of their 13 months of misery after a group of Romanian squatters took over the house next door to them.

Rafiq Nuyani, of Courtland Avenue, Ilford, has been trying to persuade the authorities to take action since squatters appeared at the property in late 2010.

Mr Nuyani, 53, who lives with his wife and daughter, said a number of people had stayed at the house since then.

The back garden is now strewn with dirty nappies, bikes and rubbish. A kitchen has been set up in an upstairs room and the front windows have been boarded up.

Mr Nuyani said: "I think they broke a window and came in. I have seen the bailiffs come and a lot of council people but nothing happens. They are such horrible people. We see people coming and going all the time. Sometimes they put a fire in the garden and cook, two or three times.

"We have called the police. They come out on a Saturday because they think the council is closed so nothing can happen. The value of my house has gone down because of them."

Land Registry documents reveal the owner of the squatted house is Michael Stanton, of east London, who bought the property for £241,000 in July 2009. When the Standard visited, the windows were boarded up and a pushchair was in the drive.
The door was answered by a Romanian woman who gave her name as Maria Zlate. She said she spoke little English but in Spanish claimed she was living there with her husband and mother-in-law.
She said they had been living at the property for a month and had a contract, but refused to show it or allow a reporter and photographer to look inside the house.