Squatter builder who took ownership of pensioner's home sells it for £540,000

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A pensioner’s £400,000 house claimed by a squatting builder for absolutely nothing following a landmark legal ruling has now been sold for £540,000, it has been reported.

The empty three-bedroom property was taken over by Keith Best in 1997. He had been doing work nearby when he saw it was empty.

The house had belonged to Colin Curtis, who had lived there with his mum before moving out and leaving it largely vacant, the Mirror reports.Mr Best swooped in and after squatting in the home for a decade went on to claim the property in Newbury Park, Ilford, north east London, using an obscure law that dates back to Roman times.After taking over the house, Mr Best carried out extensive renovation work over the next 15 years before moving in with his wife and child in 2012.When he applied to take permanent possession of the house he was granted it after an appeal - despite the judge in the case agreeing that he had committed criminal trespass.And now it has been reported that Mr Best has sold the home for a huge profit.

The new owner Atiq Hayat, 35, told MailOnline : "This property was sold to us by Keith Best who was the legal owner. His name appeared on all the documents related to this house and everything was done properly, and we have nothing to worry about. "I never met Mr Best, but my sisters did twice, when they came to see the property.