Relieved tourists lapped up some post-hurricane sunshine on the golden sands of Tobacco Bay yesterday afternoon.

But life?s hardly a holiday for people camped out at the sprawling former Club Med building a few hundreds yards up the hill.

The fact the derelict site boasts one of the Island?s finest sea views is probably the last thing on the minds of these temporary trespassers, living in cramped and basic conditions.

The 20 or so homeless folk who have taken refuge in vacant dormitories last made the headlines earlier this year. As speculation about a potential new developer mounted, a warning was given that a Canadian Hotel-type situation could soon develop for Government, the site?s landlord.

Now it is back in the news again after Police were called to reports of a violent disturbance there on Tuesday night.yesterday spoke to residents who have made the former Club Med staff quarters their temporary home, to try to find out what life was like living in the dilapidated ruins of a once bustling hotel.

?I?ve been here on and off for a while,? said one woman, who asked not to be named. ?We have power and furniture inside the rooms.

?It?s decent enough.?

The fact power and water supplies remain on has led some to speculate that Government has no problem keeping the dormitories at least partly liveable ? so it keeps the homeless problem out of sight, and places less strain on housing waiting lists or homeless shelters.

Some residents said that officials used to come and move people on. Now, they claim, despite scores of ?no trespassing signs? around the site, nobody disturbs them.

Attempts to find out what future plans Government had regarding homeless people living at Club Med were not successful yesterday.

However, another man we spoke to at the east end site told us that people lived there for a variety of reasons. Some hold down jobs at the same time.

He said: ?Some people are up here because they have nowhere else to go, some people are here because things are not working with their families, some people are up here saving money to move.

?For a lot of people it?s all about the high rents. It?s terrible.?

He added: ?This is a side of Bermuda people do not see.

?But that?s nothing,, you only need to look at the parks to see what?s going on.

?I spent some time out there myself, finding some secluded spots. After a while you realise that if you want that spot you have to get there early, it?s that busy.?

But he predicted that this week?s outbreak of violence might frighten off would-be trespassers. ?There?s not going to be people living here for much longer now because of what happened on Tuesday night.

?That kind of thing scares people.?

Some might think that braving out hurricane-strength winds in a normal Bermuda house is a hard enough experience.

Homeless Club Med residents, however, shrugged off the experience of living through Hurricane Florence in a mothballed hotel.

?We were outside enjoying the breeze,? one woman said. ?We washed our hair in the rain.?

Another added: ?This was the only place on the Island that had electricity. We had our TV and music on throughout the storm.?

Power benefits aside, the ever-looming likelihood of Club Med being bulldozed by a new developer remains, making long-term residency a precarious prospect.

But with house prices and rents showing no real sign of cooling, it looks like washing will continue to hang on hedges outside the east end eyesore for some time to come.