Feeling upset and a little intimidated

Sar53 I'm glad to hear that you have your peace and quiet back. Personally, where I live there always seems to be mounds of rubbish left behind by travellers, so while I agree anya that other people leave litter to, that doesn't make it OK for them to despoil the countryside. I started watching that series on TV My Big Fat Gypsy wedding feeling sympathetic towards them as a minority group, but I didn't have a lot left by the end, I'm afraid.

It's not right to suggest travellers are not civilised or that only they leave rubbish behind after them. I've seen beaches strewn with plastic and glass bottles, sweet wrappings, left over food, etc all left by so-called 'civilised' people and country paths blocked by fly tipping, again by : civilised' people.

I agree with others, be vigilant. Not ALL travellers are dishonest etc. But NO traveller uses the toilet in their trailer/caravan as it's considered 'dirty'. Something us house dwellers find revolting I expect ? so there will be mess when they're gone ?

It is very easy to say 'don't be too judgemental ' when you have not had these people break in to private property about 10 metres from your property. The children riding up and down on noisy motor bikes, generators on all night, yapping dogs. This was the third place locally they had broken into in the last few weeks.
Anyway we have been out all day and arrived home about 8'sh and they have gone. The field is full of rubbish, mostly bagged up. We are hoping the council will come and clear up tomorrow and secure the field.

I understand people have had some very bad experiences with the travelling community. As a nurse ( just retired) I've looked after a lot of travellers and have only had positive experiences with the people I met. I found them absolutely fascinating and lovely to talk to. It got to the stage where the nurse in charge would allocate certain patients to me as 'Suzie seems to love the travellers". That's my personal experience anyway.

There is indeed, good and bad in all of us but these travellers get a lot of bad publicity because of their behaviour and the crap that they leave behind.
They wouldn't get bad publicity if their behavour didn't warrant it. We had travellers parking up on a school playing field just before the school broke up for the holidays and they moved on - eventually. Our local council was left with the task of cleaning up after them. Civilised folks don't leave their crap (literally) around for other people to deal with.

Having read all the posts it seems that there is good and bad among the travelling population. Most of the posts are anti though so presumably there is more bad than good. I'd love to say "live and let live" but I think I'd be anxious too sar53. I'm hoping that your experience will be one of the good ones.

I taught at a school near a traveller site. One little girl started with us who had never been to school before. Within 6 weeks she was reading and writing. She was like a sponge. Her mother was so pleased as now her daughter could read official letters for her. One the other hand we had boys in the juniors who openly smoked ! !! And others who took anything not nailed down.
A broad mix as with everyone

If they are running generators then that is another reason that the police/council can move them because of the noise nuisance. We had them the other side of a 6' fence behind us. The children sat on the caravan roofs to look into our house.

It's Kennilworth Horse Fair tomorrow for 3 days, so we have travellers parked illegally all over the place, at least four sites I've seen and some Romany horse-drawn wagons parked on road-side verges with the horses tethered.

Every year the Irish tinker types leave a disgusting mess behind but the gypsies in the old fashioned wagons leave the verges spotless, as do one of the other groups. It would seem to be a case of the culture of that particular group and that like attracts like. Some groups are dominated by those who don't give a damn about others, but other groups are much more environmentally and socially aware.

I'm with paddyann and luckygirl on this one. Don't be too judgemental. People are always in fear of something that isn't familiar to, or doesn't suit them. That's why we have so much hate crime.

Some travellers tried to set up camp in our town a few years ago but came a bit unstuck when quite a few local people decided to enclose them by forming a circle of cars,vans etc around them ..effectively blocking them in. The police became involved pretty quickly and the travellers moved on. The council wasted no time in having massive boulders placed strategically in every available place possible in the town to prevent this happening again. They give themselves a bad reputation because of all the devastation and mess they leave without any thought to local people ...riding roughshod over any rules and regulations that they can get away with. I can remember a few years ago when all the news was about Dale Farm in Essex when a legal site was going to be closed. If I have remembered this correctly...local councils used to have a legal obligation to provide sufficient sites for travellers in England ..but in the mid 1990s the rules changed. Then the travellers would seek other places to camp up. Now so much land is no longer available because of all the extra houses being built they struggle to find places. What I do find very strange is the fact that many of these travellers actually have another home in Ireland ...often going back in December for Christmas and more family weddings. These homes are gated communities. Have seen all the Big Fat Gypsy series and can see that some families just cannot settle in any one place....what is the answer?

Have should read haven't

But they've have actually done anything yet, have they?!

You are worried about potential damage and rubbish. But nothing so far.

Unclench your arse cheeks.

I don’t want to upset anyone or get shouted down but we often get travellers in the field next to us. The last time they set camp people were upset and hostile. I have to say in this case and in all cases in my area, I have not seen any evidence of dirt or a rise in crime in fact they normally act better than the locals. They always have horses and traps and my grand kids love to see them. They are always polite (if un- talkative) and they always allow us to visit their horses which are always well kept and beautifully presented. The local church is full when they visit. They never stay long and I have never ever seen a mess left, in fact, the last time they took lots of items that had been fly tipped so actually cleaned up the area.

Surly this is just another form of diversity and society should show some tolerance. Housing is in great shortage in this area is this just not a response to changing demographics as well as cerebrating and embracing a tradition? I guess my experience of travels has never been negative so my response is different.
In a world full of hate I just think someone needs to embrace diversity of culture.

here in south dorset we have the traveller problem every year at this time. it's the same in my town and in the next one.
they rock up at a public area and damage gates/locks etc to get access and the police can't do anything about it.
their rubbish is horrendous and costs the councils an awful lot to clear up when they've finally been evicted.
and their behaviour is extremely anti social - even the children are threatening and carry knives.
there's a big steam fair down here every late august/early september and they're in the area for that.
but it seems from june onwards we are plagued with stories of them getting into public parks and also on council car parks [not multi storey ones] and it costs thousands of pounds to go to the courts to evict them.
where they go in the winter i have no idea but perhaps they live on sites local to them.
incidentally, we [as a town] are unable to offer a site for them - recently two areas were turned down by them as being unsuitable and there are no other sites where they want to go!

In Essex the 'Pikey' is universally loathed. They are cruel to horses, enjoy dog fighting, a vet friend had to stitch together a poor little dog almost pulled apart and left behind, break down gates etc to gain entry to nature reserves( breaking into nearby beach huts) school playing fields, village cricket grounds and leave a filthy disgusting mess to clean up. The police will only enter a site in pairs. Hateful low life.

Why do they only cause trouble in the summer? Where do they go in the winter?

I was out one morning and when I came home a man (traveller) emerged from my back garden. He said he was just trying to find me to see if I wanted any work done. I was quite frightened but he went on his way. We used to be plagued with them knocking our doors wanting to do jobs. I think they gave up in this area because no-one ever employed them.

Travellers are especially protected by the Equalities Act which binds the hands of the police and allows them to behave in very anti social ways with impunity.

The fact that they own large static caravans but choose to travel around in expensive and well equipped vans all summer is becoming a nightmare problem for the communities whose peace they destroy, witness the constant picture stories in local and national newspapers of the chaos and mess they cause where they camp.

My village had a brief incursion. They mistakenly thought our village green was public land instead of privately owned by the PC so we were able to remove them within five days but in those five days the noise, mess and anti social behaviour reached unacceptable limits. The cost of the clear up and measures to prevent another 'raid' ran into thousands of pounds.

A couple of days later a nearby site in Burnham Beeches was invaded by travellers and then Denham, followed by Chalfont St Peter Green.

I am almost more angry at those who seek to defend the travellers' anti social and unacceptable behaviour than I am at the travellers themselves. After all, they have been given the green light by the legislation and by the virtue signalling values of those who passed it.

And to those who would disagree with me I'd ask you to reserve judgement until the day you actually see a piece of toilet paper covered in human faeces in your garden if it is too difficult to imagine and empathise with those who suffer.

It's quite wrong that after all these years the Police cannot instantly remove the offenders when trespassing. What's the difference if an intruder is in your house, you don't have to wait for a court order to get them out ?? There are rotten and decent people in all walks of life. However, dumping yourself on others people's property, disturbing the peace of others and leaving mountains of disgusting rubbish in your wake, for others to clear up, is not decent or right. We should all be able to choose how we live but also we should all have respect for others.

I have no problem with those who want to travel around.'Live and let Live'
I myself like to travel in our camper van and have just returned from a two-month trip. Whilst we were away, however, we did not break the law, camp illegally, or leave piles of rubbish all over the place. Travellers come to our area annually and do all of the above. Fly tipping seems to increase whilst they are here too. I'm not racist there is much to be admired about their culture and of course, there are good and bad in all cultures. We should, however, all be subject to the same laws and the laws around this subject need to be tightened up in my view.

paddyann- I feel sad that you have family experience but lets get real, travellers in the main make a lot of money and pay NO tax by doing jobs for people that are usually NOT done professionally and not done well. In the main ( watch the series gypsy wedding) they have plenty of spare cash but little consideration for others. Sar53, I would feel as you do ( I have had experience of traveller "con" men.) Lucky girl.....mmmm slightly naïve!but of course its only fair that if this is your view that's fine.

Lucky girl. Local councils have bent over backwards over the years to provide sites for these alleged travellers. There is only so much land available and the councils duty is to build houses and provide housing for the people who want stability for their children so tell me who should come first? A traveller choses to live a life where he has no overheads like the rest of us ie show me a destitute traveller with his expensive cars saying he wants the freedom of the open road but nevertheless expects the bricks and mortar for schooling for his children and the NHS for his health.So regardless of the upset he causes others he will camp where he choses.

Travellers moved into a park overlooked by my sister's flat and the Council got rid of them in days. It is reasonable to be worried but a week is quite good really. I have been told by the Community Police that action has been started to get rid of by nightmare neighbour (who attracts gangs of men to our block of 4 flats who are threatening). I am pretty sure that proceedings have been started but the Council won't tell us anything because of confidentiality and I can't really nag the Police. She screams 'bitch' at me when I come into the building as she thinks that I started the complaints about her which I didn't, in fact I tried to help her but I was the only person that addressed her personally about how people felt and warned her.
It feels like a long time but the law has improved greatly over the last few years in this area. I dislike the Tories but this is one area where the changes in the law have been for the better. You do have to push to get anti social behaviour treated seriously by both the Council and the Police but the law is there once they can be forced to use it and you have overcome that hurdle.
A week will soon pass. Lock your doors and try not to interact with them in any way.