Brighton squatters scared off by cagefighters

12:10pm Tuesday 14th August 2012 in News By Emily Walker, Chief Reporter

TOO MUCH: Sol Gilbert TOO MUCH: Sol Gilbert

A group of squatters got more than they bargained for when a trio of cagefighters were shown around the office they had made their home. 

Celebrity martial arts instructor Sol Gilbert was looking for a new office when he stumbled across the squat in Circus Street, Brighton.

The terrified occupiers fled at the sight of Mr Gilbert and fellow cage fighters Pete Nemeth and Ryan White at the door.

The trio of muscle men were being shown around an office block next to the Municipal Market. When the letting agent opened the door the squatters ran away.

Mr Gilbert, who has trained Katie Price and Alex Reid, said: “I was trying to find a new office. I went round there with the letting agent and as soon as the door was opened they were all shouting: ‘Run away’.

“There were about 12 of them in there, but they all fled like rats as soon as they saw us.

“It wasn’t my building to evict them from, but to be honest the sight of me and Pete and Ryan might have been too much for them.”

The squatters, who say they are part of a group called the Squatters Network of Brighton, claimed they had been illegally evicted and accused Sussex Police of ignoring their complaints.

However, Adam Matthews, a friend of the group, said: “They had only been living there about two days.

“But there had been no contact from the building’s owners or the courts prior to Sol Gilbert and his entourage turning up. This was an illegal eviction.”

Sussex Police said they had not been involved in any formal eviction process nor had they received any complaints from the building’s occupiers.

As revealed in Saturday’s Argus the Squatters Network of Brighton has announced plans to stage a “mass squatting action” in Victoria Gardens, Brighton, in October, in protest against a change in the law.

Related links

From October 1 it will be a criminal offence to squat in a residential property, but the law will not apply to commercial properties or public spaces.

Comments(39)

Hoarder12345444 says...
12:23pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Good to see them scurry away like the losers they all are. Why don't they get a job and pay for their bills like I have to. I have a mortgage and I have it because I work and save hard and am not a freeloading squatter. I support the new law, think its great. They are illegally occupying anyway.

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jay316 says...
12:49pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Illegally evicted.. if the cagefighters nor anyone else entered the premises then that not an eviction..

As for working, why work when the hard working tax payers can fund their drugs and booze!

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jay316 says...
12:50pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Hoarder12345444 wrote:
Good to see them scurry away like the losers they all are. Why don't they get a job and pay for their bills like I have to. I have a mortgage and I have it because I work and save hard and am not a freeloading squatter. I support the new law, think its great. They are illegally occupying anyway.
New Law should apply across the board! not just residential!

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FC says...
12:52pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I wish squatters would go away. I'm glad the law is changing, I'm glad they ran away from this guy and I hope they continue to run.

I wouldn't mind squatters if they took over empty buildings and did something about them. But they only make them worse and even more uninhabitable. So what's the point?

Idiots.

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Crystal Ball says...
12:52pm Tue 14 Aug 12

The ideal place for them so squat? About two miles offshore...

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Goldenwight says...
1:15pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Mr Gilbert, who has trained Katie Price...

Now THAT is scary!

I'm not certain what the story here is supposed to be, though.

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wharrgarbl says...
1:17pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Yes, its all the squatters fault. How dare they disagree with this ridiculous system of working their entire lives for nothing so that some capitalist at the top can reap the benefits?

Also they probably ran away so that the people didn't see their faces and have the opportunity to identify them, not because of some scrawny dudes and an agent. Bit of self-trumpet blowing there I reckon.

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GIVE UP says...
1:34pm Tue 14 Aug 12

What sort of squatter doesn't change the locks?

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Le Premier Cru says...
2:07pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Why do I not swallow the "Sol Gilbert was looking for a new office" story?

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
2:25pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Whilst we having the Marxist, politically-correct, bed-wetting Green party in power, Brighton will remain a squatters paradise

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Fight Back says...
2:38pm Tue 14 Aug 12

wharrgarbl wrote:
Yes, its all the squatters fault. How dare they disagree with this ridiculous system of working their entire lives for nothing so that some capitalist at the top can reap the benefits?

Also they probably ran away so that the people didn't see their faces and have the opportunity to identify them, not because of some scrawny dudes and an agent. Bit of self-trumpet blowing there I reckon.
So if one of the cage fighters or the letting agent had actually seen their faces they could have identified the squatters ? How exactly ? Can they link every face they see to a name ?

Also you don't work for free - you work for money and then the tax pays for things such as benefits. Do these squatters get benefits ? If not how do they pay for food ? If they do then they're no better than the "capitalist at the top" that you berate.

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Jacobdog says...
2:45pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I'm not sure how criminalising squatters will help, unless you include a few months of free board and lodge at Her Majesty's pleasure and our expense as a good outcome.

We see the visible harm caused by squatting all the time but those squatters that keep their heads down and respect the properties they occupy slip under the radar, should they be given criminal records too? Meanwhile some property owners blight our cities by letting their buildings fall into disuse and hiding all their money offshore.

We pay our politicians enough to expect them to think harder about problems than this – they should be proposing legislation that protects owners of properties that could suffer harm and punishes cynical land owners that let abandoned buildings rot in the hope that they can tear them down for a fat profit in the next property bubble.

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mimseycal says...
3:53pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Le Premier Cru wrote:
Why do I not swallow the "Sol Gilbert was looking for a new office" story?
Because it is rather a tad too large to chew.

It is for this reason that we need the new law. Last thing we want is a return to the Hoogstraaten days.

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Thumper Hove says...
4:56pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I suggest Mr Gilbert makes his contact details available. He would be swamped with offers of work from frustrated people who have been trying to get rid of squatters - or work offers from a new law-abiding council when the Greens are kicked out (we can hope).

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deanaprior says...
5:06pm Tue 14 Aug 12

mimseycal wrote:
Le Premier Cru wrote:
Why do I not swallow the "Sol Gilbert was looking for a new office" story?
Because it is rather a tad too large to chew.

It is for this reason that we need the new law. Last thing we want is a return to the Hoogstraaten days.
It makes me think of Hoogstraatenl. He loved publicity.

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NickBtn says...
6:10pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I saw a property vacant after parents had died. Squatters moved in. They got cold and set fire to floorboards....

Squatters don't always look after house....

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clubrob6 says...
6:33pm Tue 14 Aug 12

There should be no need for housing shortage in brighton above loads of shops there is loads of vacant areas that could be converted into flats.To be honest i think these squatters just want a free ride claiming benefits and not paying rent or normal household bills.I think the council should employ these cage fighters might be handy for so called travellers too.

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onedaytheleftwillburn says...
6:50pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I dont know what all the fuss is about, its easy to get rid of squatters, simply do teh following:

1) Open the door/Letterbox
2) Chuck a bar of soap on the floor
3) Watch the the vermin run

Simples

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ray ellerton says...
9:18pm Tue 14 Aug 12

Well done lads....

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Carter_Cooldancer says...
9:54pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I bet all three of those cage fighters and Katie Prices' estranged husband (I married him coz I luved him, honest guv) all partook in a little horizontal jogging 'training' with our Katie. I bet she didn't even break into a sweat she's that match fit.

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timm says...
3:39am Wed 15 Aug 12

Who is Katie Price and what are cage fighters?

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Dealing with idiots says...
10:16am Wed 15 Aug 12

Looking forward to seeing the squatters infest the Jason Kitcat Memorial Vanity Erection. Sorry i360.

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toldsloth says...
1:05pm Wed 15 Aug 12

wharrgarbl wrote:
Yes, its all the squatters fault. How dare they disagree with this ridiculous system of working their entire lives for nothing so that some capitalist at the top can reap the benefits?

Also they probably ran away so that the people didn't see their faces and have the opportunity to identify them, not because of some scrawny dudes and an agent. Bit of self-trumpet blowing there I reckon.
The use of the word "capitalist" here sums you and your kind up really doesn't it?!

Also I would think twice before calling Sol Gilbert a "scrawny dude" lest he demonstrate his no doubt considerable skills in the area of "Opening up a Can of Whup-A**" :-)

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Roundbill says...
1:33pm Wed 15 Aug 12

He looks like a ferret.

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macs4losers says...
1:48pm Wed 15 Aug 12

lol - I went to school with Sol - or Simon, as he was called back then. He tried to make us call him "Sol" because he thought it made him sound hard, and even asked the teachers to change his name on the register. We used to call him Dierdre, because he had big glassed and fuzzy hair, like Dierdre Barlow from Corrie. Last I heard, he'd joined the army but been kicked out before finishing basic training. Looks like he's still a puffed up little turd.

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Thumper Hove says...
2:08pm Wed 15 Aug 12

macs4losers wrote:
lol - I went to school with Sol - or Simon, as he was called back then. He tried to make us call him "Sol" because he thought it made him sound hard, and even asked the teachers to change his name on the register. We used to call him Dierdre, because he had big glassed and fuzzy hair, like Dierdre Barlow from Corrie. Last I heard, he'd joined the army but been kicked out before finishing basic training. Looks like he's still a puffed up little turd.
I bet you'd never dare say that to him in person.......funny how people can slag off others when hiding behind anonymous names and computers.

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baron Von Skidmark says...
2:26pm Wed 15 Aug 12

Leave Sol alone...he's an ok guy. He employs plenty of people in the area and - ok, once upon a time he was a bit 'hot headed' ...wasn't we all ?

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NickBrt says...
3:47pm Wed 15 Aug 12

Can Sol drop into the next Greeen Council meeting and scare Jason, Duncan etc off, lncluding the one who hates gay people, forgotten her name.

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hubby says...
5:07pm Wed 15 Aug 12

Go Sol !
Sol is a diamond geezer.
I wouldn'd advise being disrespectful to his face.
Keyboard warriors get very brave when they can hide behind an alias.
Don't they Sid?

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AmboGuy says...
6:38pm Wed 15 Aug 12

This is not the full story.

I heard he walked in with job application forms for all of the squatters. The thought of having to work for a living scared them so much they ran for their lives.

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NickBrt says...
10:03pm Wed 15 Aug 12

I wholeheartedlt agree with amboguy. Squatters and greens hate the concept of work, it turns them rancid.

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gandalfthebiege says...
12:20pm Thu 16 Aug 12

EMPTY PROPERTIES AND HOMELESS PEOPLE IN AN ADVANCED COUNTRY IS CRIMINAL!

HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME!

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lfcrule1972 says...
12:56pm Thu 16 Aug 12

These comments are brilliant and brighten up my lunchtime reading !

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Flippin Burghers says...
1:40pm Thu 16 Aug 12

Hmmm, Wonder what Mr Gilbert trained Katie Price to do.

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
3:00pm Thu 16 Aug 12

Carter_Cooldancer wrote:
I bet all three of those cage fighters and Katie Prices' estranged husband (I married him coz I luved him, honest guv) all partook in a little horizontal jogging 'training' with our Katie. I bet she didn't even break into a sweat she's that match fit.
Aye, but I heard that Sol bats for the other team...

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Flippin Burghers says...
3:57pm Thu 16 Aug 12

These people are leeches. What will it take to make them do something worthwhile for society? Celebrity martial arts instructors I mean.

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willy harris says...
5:05pm Thu 16 Aug 12

motr power to the law.

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grumblegoat says...
8:33pm Thu 16 Aug 12

All property is theft

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Idontbelieveit1948 says...
8:18pm Tue 28 Aug 12

Why don't the council hire these guys and use them on travellers as well ?

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