Clooney wins beach battle

Film

16:30 18 April 2005

George Clooney has won a bitter legal battle to buy a public beach outside his Italian mansion.

The Hollywood actor caused a furore when he put in a bid to buy the small stretch of coastline between the two homes he owns on Lake Como.

Locals were so incensed with the plans, his £1million mansion was attacked by vandals who sprayed it with graffiti and smashed its windows.

Builders renovating the 43-year-old actor's 300-year-old property discovered the damage and immediately alerted police.

Clooney's plans left local residents up-in-arms because the beach is one of only a handful of access points to the beautiful lake.

Councillor Roberto Pozzi said: "The stretch is one of the few access points to the water."

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