A GROUP of determined squatters who have set up home in three empty properties at the heart of a controversial planning battle are making the lives of other residents a misery.

Residents of Inkerman Road say their once peaceful neighbourhood has been sabotaged by around 20 unwelcome trespassers who have occupied three boarded-up houses in the street.

The empty homes are among several in the area owned by Tesco which the district council and local campaigners have been calling on the supermarket giant to restore and let out for rent.

Resident Gayle Firmin said: "It used to be a quiet street, we felt quite safe and now there's different characters coming in and out all the time. There's loads of them in there, I see different faces every day.

"I live next door and the noise is disruptive because they are often up really late. They're very loud. They will often stumble out of the houses and go and meet their mates up the road and have some altercation - it's really disruptive."

Another resident, who is only known to the Review as Deric, added: "Saturday saw an ambulance called out to attend to a very bloody head injury and the street now has a constant stream of people shouting and drinking in the street. The police were also in attendance over the weekend."

Emily Blizard, who has lived with her partner in Inkerman Road since November last year, said the unwelcome visitors, who helped themselves to the properties two weeks ago, are the talk of the neighbourhood.

Emily, who is currently organising a street party, said: "I have been speaking to a number of people who have been complaining about them. One person here at the weekend said there were people very drunk, walking up and down the road.

"Everytime we walk past we hear noice coming from the hoise - voices and loud music.

"We are also worried about the parking. One of them has a been seen in a car; they park along the road and there's already a problem with parking along here.

"When we moved in these houses, although they weren't lived in, didn't have squatters and they were well-maintained.

"We wouldn't have bought the house if we knew the street would look like this. It is making the value of the properties around here go down - no one is happy about it."

The Review has asked Tesco to clarify whether an eviction notice has been served to the trespassers, who have vowed not to leave without a court order.

A notice has been displayed in one of the windows by the occupants declaring: "We live in this property and we intend to stay here," giving little hope to residents of a brisk solution to the problem.

Emily said: "You would think Tesco would want to keep the residents happy around here so they have less opposition to their planning applications. "If they do things like this they will get opposition from residents all the time."

Gayle added: "The amount Tesco will spend on solicitors fees to get them out, could have been spent doing the houses up."

Campaigner Simon Hepburn from the Stop Tesco group, which proved pivotal in the fight against controversial plans for a supermarket on the former Eversheds site in London Road, said: "Given the desperate need for housing in the St Albans area, Tesco must put these houses back into use now.

"Of course, if this is another Tesco strategy to let the potential site for a store decay even further in the hope that local people come around to its opinion, we are pretty sure that the people of St Albans are not that stupid."

Tesco failed to respond to the Review's request for comment before we went to press.