A BUSKER fighting eviction from land he says he has lived on for more than ten years faces a six-week wait to find out if he is to lose his home.

Frank Williams has been battling Winchester council chiefs in Winchester for the past two years since the authority began legal proceedings to evict him from land near St Catherine's Hill.

Yesterday that battle reached a public enquiry after a Government inspector was brought in to oversee the dispute and bring it to a conclusion.

Opening his case at Winchester Guildhall, Mr Williams, 57, who can often been seen busking in the city centre with his three-legged dog, said he had lived on the site in some capacity since moving to the area in 1992 to fight the Twyford Down M3 extension.

He said: "My hold on the land at Morestead Road is a very tentative one, but I care about the place more than the council does.

"I believe the land has been constantly occupied, as there are always homeless people and travellers. It is an opinion based on a lot of experience and a good observation on the ground."

Mr Williams' neighbour Debbie Brown, who lives in a caravan next to Mr Williams' dome home in Garnier Road, added: "There has been a lot of talk about the land, but we are the people living there.

"If there were better provision made by the council for people in my position, money would not have to be spent on efforts to make us homeless."

However, council barrister Amy Kelly said Mr Williams had failed to prove he had occupied the site for more than 12 years, and that there was no evidence he had attempted to claim the land for himself.

Government inspector Howard Russon said he expected his report to be available in about six weeks.