Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords
TV

Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords: Squatter climbs onto caravan roof to evade cops in new series

He really doesn't want to leave

Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords returns to screens tonight for a brand new series.

The Channel 5 documentary, back for a sixth outing, exposes the darker side of the housing crisis as it brings viewers stories of brazen tenants and bogus properly landlords.

And in the first episode of season six, viewers will witness the shocking moment a squatter tries to evade eviction by getting up onto the roof of his caravan.

A new series of Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords starts tonight (Credit: Channel 5)

What happens on Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords?

Chris Sharpe, an eviction lawyer, heads to Bristol to help 81-year-old Jonathan Price, a former Army officer, remove a group of squatters.

Jonathan bought a piece of land as a retirement nest, but the squatters refuse to give it back.

Read more: Housing officer appalled to discover 30 tenants cramped into ONE house during night search

One stubborn squatter who doesn’t want to go claims the land where his caravan sits doesn’t belong to Jonathan.

Land owner Jonathan, a former Army officer (Credit: Channel 5)

“This is not his land!” he argues, hanging out of his caravan. “That’s his land! You’re not high court. Go away or we will call the police.”

An enforcement officer tells him: “You call the police, I’m not going to interfere in that. All I’m going to tell you is you’ve got one hour to leave, or we’re going to remove you from the property.”

You’re not high court. Go away or we will call the police.

Jonathan says in the documentary: “They’re inevitably going to have to go, they must know this. What point were they trying to make?”

The squatter refuses to come down (Credit: Channel 5)

Squatter climbs onto his caravan

The ex-soldier and lawyer, with backup from a high court writ and police officers, clash with the squatter – who goes on to improvise a protest.

The man climbs up on top of his caravan, and what could have been an easily eviction turns into a tense 13-hour siege.

When the police arrive, they don’t want to risk trying to pull the squatter down.

So instead, they call in a mechanical lift.

People try to block the lift from getting near the caravan (Credit: Channel 5)

Protesters block the lift

During the stand-off, an officer tells the man: “I just think, at the end of the day, the writ will be executed, we will make sure that gets done – peacefully – and we would like you to come down of your own accord.

“Even with your views made, and the fact that you can appeal this…”

Read more: When Fergie Met The Monarchy: Channel 5 doc reveals Queen’s fury over ‘toe-sucking’ incident

However, the squatter argues: “It doesn’t work like that!”

Shortly after, the man with the lift arrives, but struggles to get it where they need it, as other squatters try to block his path by lying on the ground.

He says: “I’m trying to deliver a cherrypicker, and I’m blocked off by protesting guys who will not let me deliver it. I’m kind of stuck.”

– Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords airs tonight (February 17) on Channel 5 at 8pm and continues on Wednesdays

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor