Protesters who set up an Occupy London camp in east London are claiming they’ve stopped rival youth gangs fighting.

The pitched tents in Mile End Park is where clashes have occurred in the past.

But now the 20 occupiers campaigning against global capitalism, who have been served notice to quit by Tower Hamlets council, say they have mediated between warring youths.

“We’re a buffer zone separating rival Somali and Bangladesh gangs,” claimed one campaigner calling himself Earthian.

“They try to fight and we’re in the middle. We have intervened and negotiated, persuading them that fighting wasn’t the way forward.”

The protesters originally set up camp on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral last year to highlight their campaign against the global monetary economy they blame for the world recession, before being evicted by a High Court order.

They went on to occupy land next to the Limehouse Link road tunnel link owned by the Home & Communities Agency before being moved on by an eviction order from Bow County Court.

A handful then switched to the nearby King Edward Memorial Park before community activists in Shadwell and Wapping who are running their own campaign to stop Thames Water’s ‘super sewer’ scheme churning up the park persuaded them to leave.

The Occupy protesters have been in Mile End Park since April 1, despite attempts by Tower Hamlets to boot them out.

A council spokesman said: “We have served a notice to quit to remove the protesters and will use legal proceedings to enforce it.

“Mile End Park is an open space used by the whole community and we want to ensure residents continue to enjoy it.”

The anti-capitalist protesters, however, claim they are not causing a nuisance and have support from people in the area.

But they insist the Occupy camp is peaceful and they won’t be confrontational if bailiffs turn up.