With leafy drives, detached homes, a junior school and an old people's home, Atkins Road seemed the perfect haven for working families.

Or at least it was until an army of squatters decided its charms were too good to be wasted on middle-class homeowners.

And so, within the space of a day, the tranquillity was shattered by 200 new occupants, complete with drums, alcohol and their worldly possessions in a few scruffy sacks.

Out: Squatters in front of the flats on Wednesday

Homeowners in the affluent road in Clapham, South London, have endured five months of all-night parties, rubbish and stray dogs.

On Wednesday, as police and bailiffs began to enforce an eviction order, the squatters were unrepentant.

Polish migrant Yusef boasted he earned £500 a week as a builder  -  more than the average wage. He added: 'I don't want to pay rent because I am saving for my future.'

Moni, 27, who was born in Italy to Indian parents, earns £700 a month in a shop. He said: 'I can afford to eat nicely and travel, rather than wasting my money on a landlord.'

The squatters arrived en masse in March, taking advantage of a council blunder to move into four empty blocks of flats.

Time to go: Police helped make sure the squatters moved out

Police and private security move in to evict the squatters who have been making life hell for surrounding residents

Atkins Road, where homes sell for £1million, became strewn with broken furniture and beer bottles and covered in graffiti.

The squatters include Britons, Argentinians,Poles, Irish, French, Germans and Mauritians.

They acted after hearing the flats  -  owned by Annington Homes  -  would become vacant when the lease held by Lambeth Council to use them as temporary accommodation expired in April.

Squatters reveal their reaction to being evicted from the building where they had been living

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Upscale: Residents in nearby Atkins Road say they are scared and furious at the takeover of the estate

They moved in during the handover period in March, changed the locks and claimed squatters' rights.

Because the council could not return the flats to the owner, since they were not vacant, taxpayers have had a monthly bill of  £50,000.

Barbara Glosby, 70, of the old people's home next door, said: 'We have no peace. At night, all you hear is drums, dogs barking, fireworks and music. You can't sleep.'

Manager Doreen Combs added: 'We have tenants aged 60 to 100 and they've been keeping them awake all night, sometimes till 8am.'

Rubbish tip: Some of the mess left behind after the squatters moved in

Dulce Lopes, 31, who lives opposite, said: 'It's very dirty and there are cars and people coming in the night. Sometimes we feel scared.'

Police and security guards were verbally abused as they began evicting the occupants, who will leave taxpayers with a bill of £500,000 for fees and damage.

Dave McEvoy, chairman of the road's residents' association, said: 'Parties have been going on for months, they are loud and go on all night. The council should have handled the flats better. I don't know why they weren't guarded.'

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Three squatters shift their gear using a stolen supermarket trolley

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Our right: Some of the squatters defended their right to live in the flats and said they had offered to pay rent

After he spoke to the Mail, 25-year-old Scottish squatter Sasha told him: 'I can only apologise for the fact that you had that experience. I do not want to cause trouble. I squat because it gives you a sense of community.

'My parents don't agree with it. My dad's a fireman, mum's a nurse. We've had many arguments.'

Lambeth Council said: 'We share the concerns of residents and have done all we can to help the property owners to remove squatters as quickly as possible.

'Squatting is an illegal and antisocial activity that results in a cost to the taxpayer.'

Annington Homes said: 'We have agreed a new lease for these properties with a housing association. We took over legal proceedings recently from Lambeth and were granted a possession order.'

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Mess: One of the areas in the building which has been taken over by the squatters