An Irish emigrant in London has found himself sitting on a fortune after being named as the legal owner of a small piece of secluded woodland on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
Harry Hallowes (70) has lived in a hut there since 1987, but stood to lose it when property developers threatened to move in in 2005.
He came to England from Co Sligo aged 20 and leads a simple life, living off a weekly pension from social services, payments from odd jobs and the benevolence of friends in the area.
On Wednesday, his rickety 12ft by 8ft shack set in a 90ft by 90ft garden was safeguarded as the Land Registry ruled that he should be given the deeds to the property that has been his home for 20 years. The land, if sold for development, could be worth up to £2 million (€2.94 million).
Mr Hallowes, who counts among his friends Monty Python actor Terry Gilliam, said: "If I write a will I will leave the land to the royal family. They are the last bastion of refinement and sophistication so they'd know what to do with it.
"But there are a lot of greedy people behind the scenes who would love to get their hands on this."
Mr Hallowes first faced losing his home in early 2005 when Kensington and Chelsea NHS Hospital Trust sold the Athlone House nursing home, which the land nestles on, to property developers Dwyer International.
The property firm plans to turn the former nursing home into more than 20 luxury flats and donated the patch of land which Mr Hallowes's squat is on to the Corporation of London, to act as a buffer zone between the new development and the heath.
According to the Corporation of London, under covenants attached to the land Mr Hallowes could not sell it for development even if he wanted to.
The corporation is now hoping he will sign the land over to it after his death.
Lesley Mair, corporation spokesman, said: "Our lawyers are looking into whether Harry does have the land and if he does, what the implications might be for us.
"His rights to live there were always protected, but for whatever reason he has sought this title and that gives him additional protection."
His solicitor, Maurice Evans, said: "The developers proposed to build him a house on the plot as part of a compromise deal, but it wasn't what he wanted. All he wants to do is to continue to live the way he has lived quite happily for all these years."