It is the historic site where King John sealed the Magna Carta to establish the rule of law. But just a few hundred yards from the famous setting at Runnymede in Surrey – which the Queen will visit in June to celebrate the document’s 800th anniversary – dozens of anarchists have made their squalid home in a litter-strewn shanty town. Squatting on the private land, the group, who are linked to the Occupy London movement that caused chaos in London when they set up camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in 2011, have left locals outraged. Squatter Vinny outside one of the make-shift homes the group has set up just yards away from where the Magna Carta was sealed in Runnymede, Surrey . In contrast to the neatly tended Magna Carta memorial nearby, a used condom and grubby mattress lie at the entrance to the ramshackle squatters’ camp. Inside, a Mail on Sunday reporter witnessed one anarchist openly smoking cannabis just feet from a two-year-old child. The battle to evict the squatters is set to come to a head just before the Magna Carta anniversary on June 15. Last Thursday the squatters were granted a stay of execution when a county court judge allowed them two weeks to submit a defence ahead of a hearing next month. One camp leader, Vinny, who would not give his surname, said: ‘This is about using the land to grow our own vegetables. It’s a place to give people life skills, a sanctuary for the displaced.’ The dope-smoking 48-year-old added: ‘Why can’t we have equality with land ownership? Why can’t we have a few acres each?’ Last Thursday the squatters were granted a stay of execution when a county court judge allowed them two weeks to submit a defence ahead of a hearing next month . The camp was set up three years ago in woodland on a disused Brunel University site. Property developers Orchid Runnymede has planning permission to build affordable homes, student accommodation, an elderly care facility, and private housing on the land. But the community of about 30 squatters are refusing to leave. They claim to live off the land, using solar panels for electricity, a freshwater spring to wash and a vegetable patch to grow food, as well as raiding supermarket rubbish bins. King John sealed the Magna Carta to establish the rule of law. Above, a painting illustrating the historic moment . But David Sheldrake, whose farm borders the camp, said they have been stealing from water tanks for his cattle, adding: ‘I’m 69 and there are young people there – able, fit people who don’t want to work.’ One of the camp’s founding members, James Hampson, claims some of the squatters do work full-time. He has not worked since staying at the camp but said he has not claimed any benefits either. The former IT worker said: ‘Our aim here has always been to build a sustainable community.’ Mr Hampson is pledging to peacefully resist any attempt by developers – who recently erected a steel fence around the squat – to retake the land. The squatters’ lifestyle is a far cry from that in the leafy village of Englefield just 200 yards away, where houses fetch more than £1 million. Marketing consultant Lisa Lawson, 55, whose house borders the development site, said: ‘If you really believe in keeping everything nice and living off the land, why is there such a load of rubbish down there?’ Retired engineer Janet Ferstl, 60, added: ‘I used to walk my dogs down there a lot but I don’t any more. I don’t feel safe.’ A spokesman for Arts Estates, which manages the land, said: ‘We are building a valuable development for the community and we have to do so within the laws of the land.’
Squatters have set up shanty town just yards from Runnymede in Surrey . The group who are linked to Occupy London have left locals outraged . One member said they were using the land to grow their own vegetables . They have been given two weeks to submit a defence ahead of hearing .