Travellers threatened with court action unless they leave site by weekend
TRAVELLERS who have pitched up in a Lincolnshire village have been told to move on or face court action.
The group of two families arrived on the Sidney Hall Memorial Playing Field in Waddington on Tuesday with a handful of caravans.
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Travellers have set up camp on the Sidney Hall Memorial Playing Field in Waddington.
A representative from Waddington Parish Council – which owns the land in Station Road – arrived on site soon after and warned them to leave by Monday morning.
The travellers were told to move, or court action will be taken to evict them.
Andrea Smith, clerk at Waddington parish council, said: "We are aware they are there. There are four caravans.
"We have been to speak to them. We will allow them until the end of the weekend and if they have not gone by then, we will take the necessary steps.
"We would rather they were not there, but unfortunately they are. We can't do anything about it."
The land is the site of a controversial animal circus which came in March and caused much unrest in the area.
At the time it was owned by a private landlord and has since been handed over to the parish council. The council was quick to put in concrete bollards to keep people off the field, but they say youths have moved them in recent weeks.
The travellers told the Echo they have come over from Gainsborough to be closer to a sick relative in Lincoln County Hospital.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous said: "We are just trying to find somewhere to stop around here so we can visit. The person from the parish council came down and he was ok really, just asked how long we were planning to stay here. I think we'll be gone by the end of the week.
"We never leave rubbish, we always clean up after ourselves and leave places as we find them."
12 Comments
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by Mick, Gainsborough
Friday, July 30 2010, 5:44PM
“If that lot came from gainsborough lately I wonder if its the same group that moved out from the side of Trent Port Pub a few weeks ago - what a total utter mess they left behind from their tree cuttings and general waste everywhere.”
by stephen, lincoln
Friday, July 30 2010, 12:14AM
“I'm pleased my comments met with your approval, with you and Emma being the voices of the comments pages it means a lot.”
by lynn, lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 4:26PM
“Steve, I have a couple of friends who go on lots of caravan holidays, the reason being they are dog owners, and their beloved pets can accompany them, but what really surprised me was they had to pay for this privilege!
I see what you're saying, these travellers should pay to pitch up, and pay for their horses too, even if there's no amenities to speak of.”
by steve, lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 4:02PM
“Anyone with a caravan is classed as a traveller,and usually caravanners have somewhere to stop its called a caravan park where you pay for the time spent there,simple.”
by me, your closet
Thursday, July 29 2010, 3:50PM
“"do they still eat children" ha ha ha ha LOVE IT!”
by lynn, lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 12:47PM
“They've moved from Gainsborough (which is all of 17 miles away) to be nearer a relative in LCH. This doesn't add up, why up sticks for such a short distance?
The proof of the pudding, as they say, will be if, and when they depart, the site is in a clean and tidy condition.”
by Pfffft, Lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 9:41AM
“Doesn't surprise me really. Any bit of land that is unfenced can be 'camped on' by travellers. The traditional travellers in their bow topped caravans are a different breed often welcomed by local villages as they make their way round the country, cleaning up where they have been and offering traditional trade services as they go (when I say trade I mean like hedge laying, wicker basket making etc - not much call for it round here!). Sadly these types of travellers are virtually no more being driven out and bad named by the current lot. A regular revolving door type of land for travellers is at Bone Mill junction of the A17 at Sleaford - one lot goes, another lot come in and so the story goes on!”
by McDonald, Lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 9:38AM
“They need somewhere
I don¿t deny that true Travellers and Gypsies have their own culture and way of life. You are being a bit loose in your assumptions that if other cultures want something they just get it.
¿Polish need Polish shops and food etc, they get it¿. The shops are not provided by the state but by (generally) the Polish themselves. Other businesses (like Tesco) will also have a Polish (or whatever) section if there is a large enough section of the population in the area to make it profitable
¿Muslims need places to worship, they get it¿. Again, Muslims have to buy land and pay for the construction of a mosque. If Lincoln is used as an example they are not even allowed to do that.
You may well be right there are not enough council provided sites for Travellers and Gypsies, this doesn¿t excuse trespass. This group have expressed a wish to buy their own land on which to settle, but they will have to jump through the planning and NIMBY hoops that every other culture has to.”
by John, Lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 9:23AM
“Travellers do have places provided for them, using money from tax. Polish Shops and Mosques are established by private investers, usually Polish and Muslims respectively. They are very different things.
However I would agree that it is unfair to tar all travellers with the same brush. This group sound reasonable and hopefully they will keep to their word by cleaning up, this will then leave a positive impression. The group who moved into a field next to my house unfortunately littered the area with washing machines, freezers and human waste as well as cutting down trees for firewood.”
by anon, lincoln
Thursday, July 29 2010, 9:01AM
“They should give them all a week in prison,bet that would drive them mental and would be a huge deterrent,they are parasites on every decent law abiding taxpaying citizen !!!!”