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A group of British expats told The Olive Press that they had almost given up on their Alicante communities, terrorised for years by squatters due to the inaction of authorities.
Five years ago, unfinished construction left unoccupied buildings on Calle Vincent van Gogh.
Now, ‘two rows of these houses where there’s no electricity, no running water, and no amenities at all’ are filled with unwelcome occupants.
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Lorraine Lang, a British expat, has lived on the other side of this road for seventeen years with her elderly husband who is ‘partially disabled and cannot walk’.
The ‘old age pensioner’ now looks out of his apartment to a view of old furniture, dirty laundry, and numerous squatters.
These occupants journey down to the local reservoir ‘to fill up empty canisters that they take out of the bin with water’, according to another local resident and Lang’s friend, Barbarann Blake.
Some squatters have solar-powered cameras outside their buildings, while others drive cars.
They have been spotted begging by village supermarkets and seen dumping their rubbish into the bins that local residents complain they ‘pay so much money for’.
Their presence is causing neighbouring properties to devalue on a daily basis and creates a ‘stinky and unpleasant’ living environment.
READ MORE: Squatters spark outrage by calling police on three burglars trying to break into ‘their’ home in Malaga town
Numerous meetings with the Mayor and police calls have failed to produce any results despite the obvious distress caused by the occupants.
The mayor insisted to Blake that the houses had been bought after the bank repossessed the land a couple of months ago but she has ‘not heard anything since’ and the squatters continue to occupy the properties.
Upon asking the mayor if he had any further news Blake was given the response, ‘no, not yet’.
Lang called police last year when he witnessed more squatters occupying the property.
The officials came and took a look. They sent Lang a summons the next morning to appear in court because one of these squatters allegedly assaulted a cop, even though Lang was not there.
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Lang and Blake ‘waited in court for two hours’ together and then were told they could leave, as far as they are aware no action regarding the squatters was taken and Lang has not called the police since – she fears having to return to court and knows that they have not previously helped the situation.
The houses are not just filled with humans but also animals – one of the buildings has become the home of a ‘cat colony’ which Lang speculates is being sold by ‘one of the squatters who has people pulling up to see the animals’.
After years of fighting for the squatters’ removal, these British expats do not know who to turn to – ‘I just don’t know what more we can do’, says Blake.
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