British authorities have evicted dozens of “Occupy London” protesters from the courtyard of St. Paul's Cathedral, where the anti-capitalist activists had held continuous demonstrations since October.

City officials accompanied by riot police dismantled about 50 tents at the makeshift campsite outside the world-famous cathedral early Tuesday, as the protesters looked on.

The 300-year-old cathedral was the site of one of the longest-running demonstrations inspired by Occupy Wall Street. The global movement begain in New York last year as a way to protest what activists say is economic inequality and corporate greed.

Some of the demonstrators Tuesday complained they were being unfairly forced out of what had become their homes.

“I've been here since day one in October and, believe me, they're just tearing everyone's tents up. They've paid hundreds of pounds on those tents, that is their homes.”

Protesters Tuesday initially tried to form a barricade to prevent police from entering the campsite. But there were no reports of violence, unlike in several U.S. cities where demonstrators and police have clashed in recent months during the clearing of some protest sites.

The eviction had been anticipated since a court ruled last week that the protesters did not have the right to stage a permanent campsite in the public area, which is in the heart of London's financial district. One-hundred tents had already been removed from the facility following the ruling.

The protest had proven controversial for the leadership of St. Paul's Cathedral, with two senior Anglican clerics resigning over the church's initial attempts to have the protesters removed.