60 Days with the Gypsies - Channel 4

Despite Ed being personally harrassed, having his caravan broken into and his car damaged with footprints where someone had taken a dump on his windscreen he was surprisingly sympathetic and supportive of the irresponsibilities, public nuisance and community disrespect of the traveller lifestyle.

Ed's opening statements indicate a certain bias "Every year authorities spend hundreds of thousands of pounds dealing with unauthorised gypsy and traveller encampments.... Proposed new laws could see an end to this nomadic way of life ... for ever. Threatening a culture that's existed for centuries.  There are an estimated 300K gypsies & travellers – some of whom live on unauthorised encampments"

Proposed new legislation would give police increased powers to move encampments on with gypsies & travellers facing fines of up to £2.5k, possible confiscation o property and up to 3 monts in prison

Previously police could remove gysies and travellers only if they caused damage to land, used threatening language or had more than 5 vehicles on the land

For his use in this "investigation" Ed was equipped with a 10-year old caravan

and cautioned about Gypsy law: "Never use the loo in the place where you live, i.e. in the caravan"

Actually gypsy culture demands absolute cleanliness in the home - washing, cooking, rubbish and certainly all toilet functions are conducted outside the caravan.

Chichester

Ed's first location was an unauthorised encampment in Chichester just off A27 in W Sussex – 8 caravans adjacent to a brand new housing estate with dogs and chickens running loose..

Ed asked "Where do you put all the rubbish?"

Reply "Over there – look, mine's all over there...we put it all in one heap before we go"

Their trespass on private land  is a civil offence in the UK so currently the police would need a court order to move this group on

 In the morning Ed reported "Last night this campsite sounded like a party with dance music blaring until late... now there's a few cans & stuff lying around"

Manchester

The 2nd location was among 14 caravans parked without permission in a local (Cringle) park for 3 days
where kids were shooting squirrels and pigeons with slingshots (catapults)  beofre cooking them on open fires in the parkland.

Corwall

Cornwall has one of the highest concentrations of gypsies and travellers

In Newquay Irish travellers were sited in one of the busiest public car parks only 10 minutes from the coast

When Ed asked why they didn't use a paid site he was told

"We went to a paid site but they wanted the kids out of the pool when their time was up... and you can't do that to kids ... they wouldn't get out so we had to pack up and leave...."  "[Here we can have] Fires, BBQs, have music on as loud as we want ..."

Despite being asked to leave, the travellers insisted on their rights and eventually stayed 7 days while Corwall council had the trouble and expense of going to court for a court order eviction after which the bailiffs could evict within a matter of days.

The travellers declared "We want to be treated fairly..."

But even Ed had to comment that "Surely a little bit of consideration for the locals and not riding noisy motor bikes up and down has got to make sense"

Traveller kids finish school at 11 and start doing casual work with their father. Reading & writing is enough.. One 11 year old had saved up and bought a £1900 motorbike that he was driving up and down and doing wheelies through the encampment

 At 09:30 with nobody around. Ed reported

"The guys are weeing around the perimiter and the whole place now smells of piss. I think that shit and that shit are dog shit but I'm not entirely sure"

Ed did try to dump his own rubbish at the local dump site but was barred because he could not drop rubbish there without a residents permit

This sounds like the local council shooting themelves in the foot as they would certainly have to clear up after eviction and it certainly gives the travellers some excuse for leaving their piles of rubbish behind.

But there is NO excuse for leaving ANY site stinking of urine and dog or human waste - especially from a culture obsessed with home cleanliness.  How much respect or consideration does THAT demonstrate for the wider society?

Matlock Derbyshire

It was at a council supported temporary encampment on a station (public) car park that Ed's caravan was broken into and his car so disgustingly vandalised and defaced.

This from a small community that WAS receiving council support pending the identification of a more permanent campsite.

Councils could make provision for the correct disposal of waste

BUT travellers

do not contribute to the councils or communities in recompense of their squattting

occupy public car parks, pay no fees and leave a terrible health-risk mess behind them

in these days of metering, they expect to be provided free water and other amenities

occupy and deface public amenities and then wonder why the local public are offended

The proposed law does NOT prohibit the travellers' lifestyle but merely gives the police (on behalf of the community) the right to move them on from their illegal squats and back it up  with the ability to enforce that right where necessary by imposing a loss of property or worst case a loss of freedom on determined offenders.

In THIS regard I have NO sympathy with those gypsies and travellers who claim their lifestyle is doomed.  That is ONLY true if they insist on illegal camping.

However, perhaps there is some shortage of official traveller sites or of a sufficient traveller corridor/network through the country and if so that should be looked at consultatively to avoid further confrontation..

Data summary

Gypsy, Traveller and travelling showpeople caravan sites by local authorityClick heading to sort - Download this dataIgnore Local Authorities Region Total number of pitches Residential Transit Caravan capacity