Child taken into temporary care from football stadium squatters

1:40pm Friday 9th October 2009

By Alex Hayes

A CHILD was taken from a squatter family by Barnet Council social workers just hours after the electricity to the football stadium they have been living in for months was cut-off.

Distraught mother Jana Hirtescu pleaded with police and social workers as they took her eight-month-old son Andrew from their makeshift home in the derelict stands of Hendon Football Club's former ground.

Police handcuffed her husband Toni and picked him up and carried him away when he demanded to see their papers.

In a statement, the council said: "An inspection at the Hendon FC ground by [electricity supplier] EDF on Wednesday evening found squatters living in unsafe conditions.

"The council’s children’s service visited the ground on Thursday morning and several children were assessed as being at risk. Families were advised of this and all but one chose to leave the site. The one remaining child was placed voluntarily into the council’s short-term care."

However, unemployed electrician Mr Hirtescue choked back tears as he said: “It's terrible and an abuse. In this country they treat us like we are nothing. How can they come and take our children away like this?

“Last night at midnight they come and cut the wires for electricity, now today they say it is not safe for the children.

“They tell me we must find somewhere else to live before we can have my son back. He is eight months old, he needs his mother.”

The family, along with about 70 others, have been living in the Claremont Road stadium since Mr Hirtescue lost his job in July and could no longer afford the rent on their flat in Edmonton.

They been living in a changing room 10ft long and 6ft wide, which has a toilet and shower attached to it, since then, with all their possessions.

“For this type of room you pay £120 a week in London. We cannot afford this. It has everything you need, but they cut the electricity and say we cannot stay,” added the 35-year-old, who has worked in the UK for two years.

“We cannot get council housing as we do not have the right British papers, so we came to Cricklewood where there are a lot of Romanians living and heard about this place.”

Brothers Denis and Leslie Compton started their football careers in the same stadium before moving to Arsenal.

Planning permission for a multi-million pound development was given to a private company by the Council five years ago, but expires on October 18 as no work has yet been done.

Now washing lines are strung between the stands and broken children's toys and white goods litter the terraces, while the pitch is overgrown and rutted.

But Morton Morris, who has campaigned against the development for six years, said the Romanians have actually cleaned up the ground, which was vacated by Hendon United last year.

“There used to be a lot of people using drugs here and builders and other people would used it as a dump completely illegally,” said the Cheviot Gardens resident.

“But when they moved in that all stopped. We have never had any trouble at all from them. It's such a shame a once-proud sporting ground has been reduced to this.”

Ciprionu, a 25-year-old builder, has been living there since he arrived in the UK four months ago, after failing to find regular work.

He said: “The police are coming here every day saying we have done this or that. But all we do is collect metal people leave on the road after they have rebuilt their homes.

“No one here is doing anything wrong, but still they come and arrest us. I have a daughter in Spain I need to send money for, but it is very hard.

“This is the land of opportunity, but there is no opportunity here for us and I have nothing back in Romania.”

The council said it was using its statutory powers to provide accommodation for children with the consent of parents. There are no court proceedings with regard to the child’s care.

The Barnet Council statement added: “The removal of squatters from the site is primarily the responsibility of the leaseholder, Hendon FC, and the council will be working closely with the club to ensure that the current unsafe conditions are dealt with.”