Rave of the untouchables

As Covent Garden's pubs closed and revellers surrendered King Street to an army of binmen and street sweepers, things at Number 43 were hotting up.

This is the £20 million Georgian mansion that has been taken over by an international group of squatters and is used to host all-night rave parties.

A small orange glow in three windows on the second floor and the distant duff-duff of a bass drum was the only hint anybody was inside. But behind the oak doors of the Grade II* English Heritage listed building it was a different story.

"Are we having funnnnn?", a host yelled above the music being mixed by a DJ in the centre of the main hall and more than 100 revellers responded as one with a chorus of "yessssss". It was an illegal rave, advertised by word of mouth, that attracted an eclectic mix of high-society clubbers, foreign backpackers and vagrants who danced elbow to elbow in their own form of drug-induced gyrations.

It may be an 18th Century property with gilded cornices, ornate chandeliers and an enviable view of Covent Garden, but on Saturday night it was a sweat box of young adults.

The owners of the property, pension giant Scottish Widows and telecoms firm Henderson Global Investors, plan to turn it into flats.

Tomorrow they go to the High Court to get the squatters out and end a loophole which has seen them occupy and trash the high-profile property.

In the meantime, the party goes on. "Take drugs," a man in a spangled jacket ordered the throng, as he laid down a large mirror and used his credit card to cut line after line of class-A cocaine.

There were street performers twirling ropes and canes and flute players and acrobats making impromptu performances.

There were women in ball gowns accompanied by men in suits, others wore masquerade masks and outlandish costume, while many were young tourists in track suits.

Distressingly, at 1am toddlers were also still up and weaving between the legs of the drunken and the drugged who staggered about the five floors. Californian backpacker Joel, 27, said he had been walking around the 10-room home in disbelief.

"This is the London scene I had wanted to find," he said.