Three people evicted from Jedburgh camp after court bans land access

Three people who had been living in a wooded area above Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders were evicted on Thursday morning after courts ruled they could not return to private ground they had occupied and banned them from council land in the area. Police, sheriff officers and immigration enforcement officials moved into the camp at about 0800, detained the occupants and oversaw removal of the encampment, local officials said.

The trio, who have styled their camp the Kingdom of Kubala, had been staying in the woods since May. They were served an eviction notice last month after initially setting up on private land, then relocating over a fence to an adjacent council-owned plot. At a hearing in Selkirk Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Sheriff Peter Paterson ruled the occupants could not return to the original private plot and issued an order last week barring them from council land, including the site they had been using. The sheriff also awarded expenses against them.

Those living at the camp are identified as Kofi Offeh, 36, who uses the name King Atehene; his wife Jean Gasho, 43, who uses the name Queen Nandi; and Kaura Taylor, 21, who uses the name Asnat and had travelled from Texas...