A man faces eviction from a quiet village despite being credited for scaring off doggers and fly-tippers.
Martin Haynes, 50, is a fan of the cheap and easy van life. Hes spent the last three years of it parked up on a leafy lane in Belton, a village of 3,600 people in Norfolk.
He may not live in a house, but hes become a full-fledged member of the community. He set up two vegetable patches, he built the new village sign, and he crafted a wooden bench for walkers.
Aside from making friends in Belton, hes become something of a scarecrow when it comes to people looking for a place to dump rubbish or have sex outdoors.
Martin said: I went away for a couple of months last year, and when I returned, people were so thankful to see me back as they said there had been repeated issues of fly-tipping and even dogging.
Upon clearing up the mess dumped where I pitched up I found four pairs of womens underwear as well as used contraception.
All villagers that I speak with regularly who pass me on their walks have told me it is far less pleasant than my furniture and vegetables.
Martin grows courgettes, cabbages and runner beans (Picture: Bruno Brown / Newsquest / SWNS)Shaun Hicks, 63, who lives with his family live a stones throw away from Martins van, said: Before he was living there cars used to get dumped, burned out, all sorts of rubbish was being chucked there.
Cars would pull up there throughout the night too, we never were sure why or what they would be doing.
Kids used to go there to smoke, there was always something going on there. Hes good as gold as far as I am concerned. He minds his own business.
He is very friendly and approachable. Hes just a decent human being choosing to live the way he does and I think we should respect that.
Shaun Hicks, 63, is one of the locals defending Martins presence (Picture: Bruno Brown / Newsquest / SWNS)But the local council says people have complained about Martins presence, raising concerns about waste disposal and fires he lights.
Now Norfolk Council has told Martin and his terrier biscuit to leave.
That means an imminent end to the life hes made the cabbages, courgettes and runner beans he grows.
Martin, who uses the facilities of nearby pubs and businesses, said: The council people who come say that I need to be put in a house, to which I say no thank you.
I dont want to live in a house, otherwise I would have chosen that life years ago. They just dont get it.
But I really hope they realise that I am an honest and approachable man who is merely minding my own business and who saves the council trouble.
I do think it is harsh that they are trying to get rid of me. I do everything to keep the lane tidy and accessible for walkers.
Martin and his terrier biscuit will have to move if Norfolk Council doesnt change its mind (Picture: Bruno Brown / Newsquest / SWNS)Any move from his current spot brings uncertainty, and the possibility that he faces in the future what hes suffered in the past.
Before settling on Sandy Lane, Martin said he faced constant harassment, including having eggs thrown at his fan, in previous rural spots around Yarmouth.
Martin said: Though I have pastoral views across the fields and it feels remote, here I am just 50 metres from a row of houses.
This makes me feel far safer than I have encountered in the 25 years I have been living freely and self-sufficiently with nature.
And truly people here in Belton largely have been very welcoming and really nice. It is a lovely community here.
Obviously you are not going to please everyone, I am aware of that and respect peoples views, but most people have been so kind which has helped make me feel at home.
Locals have praised the additions Martin made to the community, like this wooden bench and the vegetable patch behind it (Picture: Bruno Brown / Newsquest / SWNS)Thats the view of one nearby resident, a man in his 70s who wants to stay anonymous. He said: Look at all the work he has put in to keep it tidy here.
We should be thanking him and respecting him for being selfless and minding his own business.
I think it will be difficult to find someone along the lane who has an issue with him.,
But David Mills, chair of Belton Parish Council, disagrees. He said: We have had many complaints from people in the village, people concerned about where he is putting his waste, lighting fires there, and the fact he is living illegally.
If people bring concerns to us, as a council we have to chase up their problems and find a resolution since we act on behalf of the village.
It is Norfolk County Council land he is living on so we have just contacted them and it is in their hands.
A Norfolk Council spokesperson said: Norfolk County Council are aware of the situation and are dealing with it in accordance with the Norfolk Protocol for Managing Unauthorised Encampments.
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