Squatters living in a disused guide hut have told the Guardian they hope to make it their permanent home.

The family from Romania moved into the dilapidated building, which is owned by Chingford Guides, after Rostas Hercule, 40, and his wife travelled by minibus to the UK five months ago.   

Two months after their arrival, they were joined by other family members, including two of their nieces, their niece's boyfriend and his mother.  

They claim to have discovered the abandoned hut while sleeping in a people-carrier Mr Hercule bought from a scrap yard for £150. 

He said: "We were sleeping in the car in Lidl car park in Walthamstow and then one day, a man approached me and asked if we were homeless. 

"He said he has a house for us in Chingford and brought us here.

“We haven't paid the landlord any rent and he's gone away but we hope to sign a contract to rent for maybe one year when he comes back in one or two months."

The family have converted the spacious room with lino flooring into a living and dining area with double beds, a sofa, table and chairs and a flat screen TV. 

Mr Hercule said he moved his family to England in search of a better life. 

But the land is privately owned by the Chingford branch of the Girlguiding Association, which says its efforts to sell the land have been halted by the illegal occupation. 

It added that the eviction process had been started.

For more on this story, see this week's Guardian - out Thursday