Squatters say 'sorry' and finally leave pregnant woman's home

Squatters who invaded the £1million home of a Harley Street neurologist and his heavily pregnant wife today boasted how they had targeted 20 other properties.

As the 14-strong gang of trespassers finally left the home of Dr Oliver Cockerell and his wife Kaltun, one claimed the law would have allowed them to remain for another two weeks.

Speaking through a binbag placed over his head, he said: "Every property we've been to has always been empty - this is the first time this happened out of 20 houses, every other place, no one was there."

Today the squatters ended their 12-day invasion of the West Hampstead property - just hours after Mrs Cockerell thought she had gone into labour.

The unnamed trespasser claimed they had decided to end the family's torment after the 35-year-old pleaded with them to leave amid fears of the stress on their unborn child. He said: "We could have won the court case but we didn't do it because we care. We cleaned up and made sure there's no rubbish as we didn't want to cause them any more stress.

"We would like to issue a public apology to Mr and Mrs Cockerell. We were not aware of the situation when we moved in. When we heard Mrs Cockerell was pregnant, we were all shocked. All this is not good publicity for squatters and homeless people.

"We moved in because we are desperate, we had nowhere to go. The house is fine and we wish Mrs Cockerell all the best with the baby."

Vacuum cleaners were heard from about 5am and the group used the washing machine to do their laundry. The last of the squatters left in a taxi just after 7.30am - taking the door locks with them - saying they were "going to Exeter", but at least some of them, including one wearing a silver mask, were holed up in a basement flat in Finchley Road.

The squatters left a crushed beer can in the living room of the unfurnished Edwardian house.

Dr Cockerell and his wife now face a race against time to ready the house for their new baby. He said: "I'm going to have to have the house repainted and we've got to get through the baby delivery next.

"We have to get the house baby-friendly. There's a lot of work to be done, which is why I don't sound completely over the moon."

One of the squatters, known as "Jimmy", revealed he lost his job working for a computer firm in Ireland and came to London looking for work.

He said: "I work a few hours a week doing market research for minimum wage but it's barely enough to live on.

"Most of us don't want to squat but we have no choice. I'm trying to get together a deposit on a flat but it's hard because I have to eat first."