SQUATTERS occupying an abandoned multimillion-pound mansion in central London tackled a group of fascists who had threatened them after trying to break in over the weekend.

The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (Anal) were holding a workshop in the huge £15 million Grade IIlisted house in Eaton Square, Belgravia, when the incident happened on Saturday afternoon.

The group was disturbed by eight men — including two older ringleaders — who had smashed the windows on the ground floor with bricks, bats and sticks, an eyewitness told the Star.

The anarchists squirted the balaclava-wearing thugs with fire extinguishers to keep them away and barricaded the many windows with crates.

The attackers fled the scene after 10 minutes of commotion. There were three children in the building at the time of the attack, including one toddler.

No-one was hurt except for a fascist who got punched in the face, the eyewitness said. She added: “It was scary, I was worried about what would happen if they came in.

“I was quite shaken because I have never seen that kind of violence before. These people were just so hateful, they were doing nazi salutes. But the incident has not put me off going to the squat again.”

The anarchist group entered the building through an open window on January 23 and has accommodated about 25 people, many of them having previously slept rough around Victoria station.

It is believed that the building has been left empty by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko since 2014.

The group intends to use it as a community centre and space for homeless people to stay.