From squatter to millionaire.

Harry Hallowes squatted for 20 years in London, now the world’s most expensive city. He settled in one of London’s richest suburbs – and has now been awarded the deeds to a plot said to be worth at least £2 million. But he does not care about the money, and may leave his land to the Queen. He lives in a small shack (12ft by 8ft) covered by polythene to keep the weather at bay, but says he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else:

Hallowes, 71, moved to England from Ireland age 20, and soon started sleeping rough. He has lived ever since, on a juicy 60ft-by-120ft (20m-by-40m) site on Hampstead Heath in London, near a former nursing home being converted into luxury flats.

The area around Hampstead Heath is well known as an expensive place to live, even by London’s inflated property prices, and is home to many stars, celebrities and liberal professionals.

In 2005, the developers tried to evict Mr Hallowes but found him resolute, and after a 3-year legal battle the land is now his. He has lived there unchallenged for 21 years, and this became the basis for his title claim to the land. A spokeswoman for Land Registry said Mr Hallowes had to prove he had been the sole occupier of the land for at least 12 years.

“This has been my only home for 20 years. I absolutely love it here. I always expected to be given the deeds. I have got my deeds locked up safe and sound. Maybe I’ll build myself a house to live in — everybody else around here seems to love building houses. I won’t be having a bird sanctuary or anything like that.”

Modest friend to celebrities

A popular local figure, Mr Hallowes does odd jobs for local people including former Monty Python star turned film director Terry Gilliam. He’s remarkably calm about the huge sum of money the property he has been gifted is worth:

“Someone mentioned a million and someone else said two million, but I’m not impressed with figures. I just wanted a place to live.”

Back in 2005, when the development was proposed, he was told to consult lawyers to prove that he had been living on the land unchallenged. Meanwhile, local residents’ groups voiced concerns about the nature of the development for luxury flats. The Athlone House working group was set up, forcing changes to the proposals and successfully negotiating for a hectare of the grounds to be given to Hampstead Heath.

As a result of his victory, Mr Hallowes has been given the deeds for a fenced area on the heath. The developers and the City of London Corporation agreed that if Mr Hallowes left the land it would be given to the heath. The plot is his to sell or to pass on, but he is never likely to win the planning permission that he would need to make the plot attractive to buyers.

Squatter to millionaire to poor politician

An eccentric twit successfully claimed squatters’ rights three years ago in the same London borough. “Rainbow” George Weiss, of the Make Politicians History party, won ownership of a mews house in Hampstead after living there without paying rent for 12 years. He sold the house, netting £710,000, but has since spent nearly the entire amount on his election activities.

Mr Weiss said: “I wish Mr Hallowes all the best. He is a truly lovely man. But I hope he is far wiser with his windfall than I was with mine.”