A private estate that is home to a host of celebrities – including former Chelsea star Claude Makelele and Big Brother contestant Shilpa Shetty – is being taken over by a gang of squatters.
And well-heeled residents of the gated St George’s Hill community in Weybridge, Surrey, are being asked to be ‘vigilant’ following the arrival of their new neighbours.
Six squatters moved into the abandoned ?3million, six-bedroom Woodlawn Cottage on the exclusive estate last month, and claim they are not acting illegally.
But homeowners – who also include actress Hannah Gordon and Dragon’s Den panelist Theo Paphitis – say they want the interlopers turfed out.
‘It does seem pretty extraordinary that the police can’t do anything to get these people off the estate,’ one resident told The Daily Telegraph.
‘They have no right to be here, yet the law appears to be on their side – it’s completely wrong.’
Properties on the estate can sell for ?10million. Former residents include Sir Elton John, Ringo Starr, Cliff Richard and Kate Winslet.
The estate’s management company has now contacted receivers handling the squatters’ home asking that they ‘take immediate action to evict them’.
A security guard is now employed to keep the property under surveillance and police have set up extra patrols of the area.
But the squatters are unrepentant, claiming they plan to stay ‘as long as possible’.
The property, located just yards from the estate’s members-only tennis club, was abandoned at least six years ago and has since become derelict.
A Surrey police spokesman confirmed that officers had visited the property, adding: ‘Officers spoke with the people inside the property before notifying St George’s Hill security staff and the owners of the property, who are pursuing this as a civil matter’.