Judge orders eviction of Nottingham 'tent village'

It has been claimed that most of the people in the "tent village" are not homeless or from Nottingham

A judge has ordered the eviction of rough sleepers who have pitched up outside Nottingham railway station.

The "tent village" was set up on Christmas Eve in a bid to make Nottingham City Council open empty buildings for the homeless.

The authority dismissed the campaign, saying most occupants of the 15 tents were "not homeless or from Nottingham".

A court order was made at Nottingham Crown Court, with police enforcement due to take place in a few days.

More updates and news from Nottinghamshire

The tents are being looked after by FightBack - a Nottingham-based group with links to Anonymous - who said it was "absolutely disgraceful" for the council to claim most of them were not from the city or homeless.

Joe Public, 48, who represented the tents' occupants in court, called for them to be given "sustainable and suitable" accommodation.

But the judge said the court is not a "political forum to deal with the problem of social housing" and made the possession order.

'Nothing but contempt'

The matter has been transferred to the High Court for enforcement, but due to police availability over the bank holiday, action will not take place for a few days.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Public, who is himself homeless, said: "I have nothing but contempt for the lack of compassion from the city council and the justice system.

"They've abandoned these people."

Police enforcement action to remove the occupants is set to take place in a few days

A city council spokesman said: "We hope that now the encampment has been deemed illegal, the protestors will move on. Their presence has caused a nuisance to local businesses.

"We have been clear that opening empty buildings is not necessary and have offered accommodation which has been refused."

Homeless charity Framework said it believed a "significant proportion" of the occupants had some form of housing, and could be putting their accommodation at risk by choosing to sleep in tents.

The number of occupants in the "tent village", set up on Christmas Eve, varies from 20 to 30