60 Days with the Gypsies - Channel 4

Ed Stafford spent 60 days caravanning with various gypsies & travellers up and down the country in order to report the truth of their lives and the effects of proposed legislation

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

SOURCE: DCLG

1 North East NE 195 195 0 329
2 Durham UA NE 90 90 0 104
3 Middlesbrough U A NE 16 16 0 45
4 Northumberland UA NE 32 32 0 64
5 Redcar & Cleveland U A NE 14 14 0 34
6 Stockton-on-Tees U A NE 29 29 0 54
7 Gateshead NE 14 14 0 28
8 North West NW 425 383 42 661
9 Blackburn & Darwen UA NW 20 20 0 40
10 Blackpool U A NW 26 26 0 52
11 Bolton NW 26 26 0 52
12 Bury NW 17 17 0 25
13 Cheshire East UA NW 17 17 0 17
14 Cumbria CC NW 15 15 0 30
15 Halton U A NW 37 25 12 74
16 Lancashire CC NW 47 47 0 74
17 Liverpool NW 14 14 0 22
18 Manchester NW 66 66 0 70
19 Rochdale NW 27 27 0 54
20 Salford NW 61 31 30 62
21 Sefton NW 16 16 0 25
22 St. Helens NW 20 20 0 40
23 Wigan NW 16 16 0 24
24 Yorkshire and the Humber Y&H 557 533 24 1043
25 Barnsley Y&H 28 28 0 56
26 Bradford Y&H 46 46 0 94
27 Doncaster Y&H 59 49 10 98
28 East Riding of Yorkshire U A Y&H 41 37 4 47
29 Kingston-upon-Hull U A Y&H 70 70 0 100
30 Kirklees Y&H 12 12 0 24
31 Leeds Y&H 41 41 0 120
32 North Lincolnshire Y&H 13 13 0 13
33 North Yorkshire CC Y&H 123 113 10 151
34 Sheffield Y&H 31 31 0 61
35 Wakefield Y&H 38 38 0 114
36 York Y&H 55 55 0 165
37 East Midlands East Mid 270 256 14 495
38 Derbyshire CC East Mid 33 31 2 66
39 Leicester U A East Mid 21 21 0 42
40 Leicestershire CC East Mid 23 23 0 33
41 Lincolnshire CC East Mid 89 77 12 161
42 Northamptonshire CC East Mid 92 92 0 169
43 Nottinghamshire CC East Mid 12 12 0 24
44 West Midlands West Mid 554 540 14 938
45 Birmingham West Mid 15 15 0 15
46 Dudley West Mid 19 19 0 32
47 Herefordshire U A West Mid 59 59 0 114
48 Sandwell West Mid 15 15 0 25
49 Shropshire UA West Mid 46 46 0 94
50 Staffordshire CC West Mid 31 31 0 35
51 Stoke-on-Trent U A West Mid 45 33 12 74
52 Telford & Wrekin U A West Mid 36 36 0 70
53 Walsall West Mid 19 19 0 40
54 Warwickshire CC West Mid 81 81 0 110
55 Wolverhampton West Mid 40 40 0 40
56 Worcestershire CC West Mid 148 146 2 289
57 East East 926 853 73 1803
58 Bedford UA East 16 16 0 32
59 Central Bedfordshire UA East 49 49 0 98
60 Cambridgeshire CC East 162 151 11 404
61 Essex CC East 169 169 0 314
62 Hertfordshire CC East 195 180 15 387
63 Luton U A East 20 20 0 26
64 Norfolk CC East 147 100 47 246
65 Peterborough U A East 64 64 0 128
66 Suffolk CC East 40 40 0 40
67 Thurrock U A East 64 64 0 128
68 London London 474 456 18 676
69 Barking and Dagenham London 11 11 0 15
70 Bexley London 10 10 0 12
71 Brent London 30 30 0 60
72 Bromley London 36 36 0 72
73 Camden London 5 5 0 5
74 Croydon London 19 19 0 19
75 Ealing London 24 24 0 48
76 Hackney London 27 27 0 39
77 Haringey London 10 10 0 10
78 Harrow London 1 1 0 1
79 Hillingdon London 20 20 0 20
80 Hounslow London 20 20 0 20
81 Kensington & Chelsea London 19 19 0 19
82 Kingston upon Thames London 15 15 0 15
83 Lambeth London 15 15 0 15
84 Newham London 15 15 0 30
85 Redbridge London 16 16 0 16
86 Richmond upon Thames London 12 12 0 12
87 Sutton London 33 15 18 52
88 Tower Hamlets London 19 19 0 34
89 Waltham Forest London 13 13 0 26
90 Wandsworth London 11 11 0 11
91 South East SE 1017 989 28 1408
92 Bracknell Forest UA SE 13 13 0 13
93 Brighton and Hove UA SE 23 0 23 23
94 Buckinghamshire CC SE 80 80 0 160
95 East Sussex CC SE 29 29 0 40
96 Hampshire CC SE 78 78 0 138
97 Kent CC SE 201 201 0 260
98 Medway Towns U A SE 11 11 0 12
99 Milton Keynes U A SE 18 18 0 18
100 Oxfordshire CC SE 80 80 0 160
101 Southampton U A SE 14 14 0 36
102 Slough UA SE 39 39 0 39
103 Surrey CC SE 230 230 0 290
104 West Berkshire U A SE 18 18 0 36
105 West Sussex CC SE 128 123 5 128
106 Windsor and Maidenhead U A SE 25 25 0 25
107 Wokingham U A SE 30 30 0 30
108 South West SW 581 507 74 997
109 Bristol UA SW 32 12 20 45
110 Cornwall UA SW 64 64 0 104
111 Devon CC SW 17 17 0 20
112 Dorset CC SW 47 47 0 59
113 Gloucestershire CC SW 81 81 0 140
114 North Somerset U A SW 7 7 0 15
115 Plymouth UA SW 13 13 0 26
116 Poole U A SW 15 15 0 15
117 Somerset CC SW 104 79 25 149
118 South Gloucestershire U A SW 39 39 0 117
119 Swindon U A SW 54 37 17 91
120 Wiltshire UA SW 108 96 12 216
121 England ENGLAND 4999 4712 287 8350

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