Triumph as Travellers Move on from Commercial Premises

As you all know, we are well into the season for travellers visiting our towns with their caravans, dogs, children and really expensive vehicles.  Last week I did mention that not only had the travellers trespassed onto private land, parking their caravans and vehicles, but they had also broken into the property and caused the ensuing destruction and mayhem.  The Police response at this time was that they could do nothing about it and could not even attend.

On Saturday evening, a few travellers broke into one of our client's premises.  We, and our client, had prepared the building and perimeter with strong fencing and almost indestructible chains and padlocks on the gates.  There is CCTV and the building is alarmed.

The alarms were activated and we attended the premises within thirty minutes.  We were surprised to discover the travellers had bedded down, caravans, trucks, cars….!  They had a special vehicle to remove the concrete bollards which were placed in front of the gates, they did not touch the chains and padlocks on the gates, indeed they were intact:- they removed the gates from the hinges, and these are massive lorry gates, and threw them down to the side.  They destroyed the CCTV cameras and then smashed their way through a door into the building and continued throughout, smashing each door blocking their way.  By this time the alarm was sounding.  When we arrived we discovered the gate and the travellers and called the Police in the hope they would attend.  In the meantime, our Officers discovered the travellers had refitted the entry door into the premises and had boarded it up!  They stated it was like that when they arrived and that they hadn't broken down the gates or broken into the building.

We were delighted when 15 minutes later, a lone Police Officer arrived.  After assessing the situation, he called the station for backup and was told no Officers were available.  We were very lucky and can only assume that the Police Officer was new to his role as, after receiving abuse and threats from the travellers, he warned them that he was going to arrest them and that their children would be taken into care.  The Police Officer walked away from them to assess the damage inside the building whilst also contacting the station again to advise of the course of action he was going to take.  He was told by the station that he must not arrest the travellers as they were busy, that it was too complicated under the Human Rights Act and also that it cost a lot of money to put their children into care.  We were deflated by this news as we thought that at last, these travellers are going to have to answer for their crimes.  By the time we came back out of the building, the travellers had upped and left, not a pile of faeces or dirty nappy in sight!

So, even though it has cost our client money to repair the damage they caused, it comes to show that these travellers can be rattled enough to leave, given the right motivation.