SQUATTERS at the former Gimcrack pub say they want to quit York, buy a bus and tour Europe now that the owners have served legal papers to evict them.

Seven protesters left at the Fulford Road building say they face homelessness within days after PD Smith Holdings applied to York County Court to have them thrown out.

Some of the group, who are veterans of the White Swan Hotel occupation saga in the city, say they are tired with squatting and want to buy a permanent, mobile home instead.

Damo Gunn, 34, said they plan to raise enough funds to buy a bus by setting up a car wash in the forecourt, selling arts and crafts and holding a music festival.

A judge will decide next Thursday whether the group, who moved into the three-storey pub and hotel more than six weeks ago, are living their illegally.

Mr Gunn says: "It's been wonderful, but it gets a bit tiresome after a while, having to move on every few months or so because it reminds us that we are homeless.

"We have been pushed and now we have been shoved and there's a temptation for us to barricade ourselves in. It might be time to make a political statement."

He added that the squatters would hold a meeting to decide whether they would make representations at court, or if they would leave straight away.

The group plans to use the bus next month to visit the Rainbow Gathering, a meeting of peace protesters and social activists in southern France, as well as a similar Direct Action meeting in North Yorkshire.

Craig Smith, managing director of PD Smith Holdings Ltd, said that clearing the property would be a big step towards bringing it back into use. He said: "If they take it right to the wire we have taken all the steps we can and are just awaiting the court hearing."

He added: "It's one of those things, if you have an empty building some people maybe tempted to get a roof over their heads. But we are doing everything we can to move forward."

Legal documents submitted to the court reveal that PD Smith Holdings, of Moor Lane, Strensall, paid leisure giant Tom Cobleigh £1,210,487 for the property in October 2002.

Updated: 10:29 Friday, July 04, 2003