Serial squatter caught at last

For years he lived the high life in some of London's most opulent houses. Staying one step ahead of the law, Dragon Zane Nevermore gained a reputation as a serial squatter who only targeted the most expensive homes.

After breaking into houses with multi-million-pound price tags, the 34-year-old American forced the owners to pay him to leave peacefully.

He made thousands more by conning would-be tenants, who would pay him deposits for rooms in the houses and flats he claimed to own - only for him to disappear before they were due to move in.

Now, though, the law has caught up with the ponytailed squatter - and the police caught him out using his own tactics.

Detectives, who had received a stream of complaints about Nevermore's antics from residents in Chelsea and Notting Hill, finally tracked him down to a block of flats in Abingdon Mansions, Earl's Court.

When officers called at the flat Nevermore was out, so they were able to gain access. They removed bags of his clothes and left a note saying they had been handed in at the local police station and could the owner come and collect them.

He duly arrived at Chelsea police station the following day and was promptly arrested. While his victims knew him by a string of pseudonyms, when he was arrested by police his real name was revealed.

Nevermore, 34, was charged with three counts of deception relating to deposits stolen from would-be tenants, with nine other counts taken into consideration. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court to 10 months in prison with a recommendation he be deported when released. He insisted his Swedish girlfriend Pia had no knowledge of his criminal activities. She disappeared and could not be traced by police.

The court heard how he would advertise rooms to let in Loot. When he showed the properties to prospective tenants they would often be empty, but he would promise to fix up the rooms by the time they moved in.

He asked for a deposit on the room and a month's rent in advance, making up to ?700 a time. He used several aliases - including Gavin Kavenagh, Nathan Hall, Grant Kennedy, Ben Greenleaf and Steve Johnson.

Detectives interviewed 12 victims, but they believe there are many more who have not yet come forward.

Nevermore is alleged to have persuaded the owners of some properties to pay him to move out. But he was not charged with blackmail, because the owners who paid him off chose not to press charges.

Among them was Courtfield Investments Ltd, whose representative Robert Pemberton agreed to pay the squatter ?1,500 in cash to leave a ?3 million house. Nevermore even produced a bogus tenancy agreement to try to prove that he had legitimately rented the building.

Detective Constable Irene Smith of Notting Hill CID said: "He was an eccentric character but a very convincing conman. Most of his victims were so taken in by him and his stories that they went along with them."

During interviews Nevermore completely accepted the blame for everything he did. Officers believe he had been conning people using various scams since his arrival in Britain from the States a few years earlier.