Travellers have just moved near house....:(

[Hollyberry]

Why do people keep insist on calling them an ethnic group. They are no more ethnic than I am. They are mainly irish who have no right to be here and are up to all the tricks known to man and claim everything going. They are practised in bending the law to suit them and we all let them. It is time this government put a stop to all their planning appeals and made them join the council waiting list if they want houses. They are not gypsies as real gypsies would not behave this way, they are low life thieves and conmen and women who are playing the race card because it gets them what they want. There are two instances locally were a hot shot lawyer has overturned the council on giving these a....h....s permission to put up their sites and it has resulted in a lot of people losing a lot of money as well as personal possessions. Stop making out these people are prejudiced against, they are not a special case, they are laughing at us for allowing them to do as they want. I despair of this country, lily livered lot of politicians who would certainly do something if they were down their street or village!

 

[ladyt25]

Why do people keep insist on calling them an ethnic group. They are no more ethnic than I am. They are mainly irish who have no right to be here and are up to all the tricks known to man and claim everything going. They are practised in bending the law to suit them and we all let them. It is time this government put a stop to all their planning appeals and made them join the council waiting list if they want houses. They are not gypsies as real gypsies would not behave this way, they are low life thieves and conmen and women who are playing the race card because it gets them what they want. There are two instances locally were a hot shot lawyer has overturned the council on giving these a....h....s permission to put up their sites and it has resulted in a lot of people losing a lot of money as well as personal possessions. Stop making out these people are prejudiced against, they are not a special case, they are laughing at us for allowing them to do as they want. I despair of this country, lily livered lot of politicians who would certainly do something if they were down their street or village!

If there was a 'like' button, I would have just pressed it for this! I too am sick of them playing this 'race' card. As you say, they are not an ethnic minority and they are not being persecuted by the 'rest of us'. I just want them to have to conform to the same rules and laws as the rest of us and expect the same punishments if they are broken.

 

[unbalanced]

By why should that be allowed and almost accepted? At the end of the day the taxpayer has to foot that bill then. Those who 'travel' do not pay tax.

Actually, that's not true. They pay have to pay income tax and VAT just the same as the rest of us. I'm a teacher and we have quite a lot of traveller kids at our school. For the most part, lovely kids. Sure, some troublemakers - same as the rest of the student population really.

I've had crimes committed against me and my family up to and including murder by people from all sectors of society - judging by this thread I should just hate everyone equally.

 

[cassie summers]

we have loads around where we are, i does depend on the families though some have horses others dont, some are curtious others will just walk on by, they wont cause a problem unless you make a problem i.e. they get defensive about leaving etc. be polite but dont make friends of them they are still people some worse then others but we dont talk to ours as they tend to be the ones that enter farms and steal tractors and we have 3 of them and they have nicked one of them before also they are scavengers for metal and stole a few gates but they all bring their horses back to a walk or halt with our horses all say thank you to traffic and dont thrash their ponies all the time and you can have a right ol' convosation with them but then one of the other families has gone into a fly tipping binge and we have had 14 in the last 2 weeks oh well will have to learn to live with them

yes we do have alot of travellers in surrey aswell 2 years ago 2 young boys about 11/12 put their dog in my field with my goats and it killed my male goat and i know it was them as they were seen and their dog was taken away by the police the next day and put down thank god i was at work or it would have been me taken away by the police as i would have killed them then when we had the snow and cold weather some of the horses down the lane had no water as all iced over no hay so i complained and since then they have made my life hell but i am not going to move they dont frighten me they are bullies last week one came and knocked on my door (i was out) to warn me not to report his horse as he had just moved into the lane and the other travellers (dont know why they are called travellers they never go anywhere)my neighbour spoke to him advised him to go away i dont keep my horse at home she is on livery and i only have one goat left but i still worry when i am not around but i will not be intimidated by scum

 

[unbalanced]

Why do people keep insist on calling them an ethnic group. They are no more ethnic than I am. They are mainly irish who have no right to be here and are up to all the tricks known to man and claim everything going. They are practised in bending the law to suit them and we all let them. It is time this government put a stop to all their planning appeals and made them join the council waiting list if they want houses. They are not gypsies as real gypsies would not behave this way, they are low life thieves and conmen and women who are playing the race card because it gets them what they want. There are two instances locally were a hot shot lawyer has overturned the council on giving these a....h....s permission to put up their sites and it has resulted in a lot of people losing a lot of money as well as personal possessions. Stop making out these people are prejudiced against, they are not a special case, they are laughing at us for allowing them to do as they want. I despair of this country, lily livered lot of politicians who would certainly do something if they were down their street or village!

1. You do have an ethnic background, same as you have a skin colour and an accent. You might not consider it the most important part of your identity but it is still there.
2. Irish is an ethnic background.
3. There are two main groups of traveller - Romany gypsies and Irish travellers. If in doubt it is less offensive to refer to gypsies as travellers than to refer to travellers as gypsies if that makes sense.
4. Ireland is part of the EU so they have just as much right to be here as you do. Similarly, you have the right to live and work in any European country of your choice.

 

[biggingerpony]

Wow I feel so offended and upset right now! I think people are really mixing up 'traveller' and 'gypsy'. Irish travellers where the people shown in dale farm, my big fat gypsy wedding etc.
My nan is a Romany who married a 'normal' settled person and while she was pretty much outcasted from other Romany families, I still know quite a few of them now. All of them are really nice, just a different culture to ours. I can't speak for the irish travellers, but I'm sure that each social and ethnic group in every country have there good and bad points. I'm upset that racisim still is alive and kicking in the UK and I feel that by branding gypsies people are labelling me as well

 

[jhoward]

We are surrounded by them five camps within a mile of my house! Only one has permission to be there;

I could spend all day telling you of the stories but you can look for yourselves if you google travellers and Market Harborough Mail! Murderes, money laundering, car thefts, raids where police found millions stashed under caravans etc etc. Sorry but to me and the value of my property that we can't sell, they are "bad"

I think my village is the only one in the country that's school is soley for "travellers children"

least the cretins are going to school

 

[ladyt25]

Hmm, well this thread is getting rather tedious and it's evident everyone has differing views on this. All I can say is I am in no way a racist at all BUT I do resent anyone who gets away with breaking planning laws, theiving, scamming, abusing people or mistreating animals. If travellers fall in to this bracket then so be it!

In response to the OP's original concerns then i would say I feel you are right to be worried and I would do all you can to protect your property.

 

[Monkers]

I don't like "travellers"

I'm not racist. I don't give a toss about where they come from, thier ethnicity, how they speak, the colour of their skin and the way they choose to live thier lives.

I don't like them because they break into my property and steal my stuff.

Does that make me racist then?

 

[gypsy cob]

i wonder if there's any travelers on here lol

 

[lula]

I don't like "travellers"

I'm not racist. I don't give a toss about where they come from, thier ethnicity, how they speak, the colour of their skin and the way they choose to live thier lives.

I don't like them because they break into my property and steal my stuff.

Does that make me racist then?

no.

sadly in any portion of society if a minority behave badly the rest get tarred with the same brush. look at teenagers who wear 'hoodies'. A few used the hood as a metod of hiding their faces while committing crimes and suddenly all young people wearing hoodies are criminals. it doesn't make it right either but its human nature to want to protect your property and view potential threats that turn up with a reputation for being trouble with suspicion and not throw a welcome party at their arrival.

if travellers truly want to be viewed in a better light by society at large i dont know why they dont make a concerted effort to launch a PR offensive, weed out the bad apples in their community that give them all a bad name which im sure a lot is undeserved.
It would make their lives so much easier as a whole but something they seem reluctant to take on board and make an effort at doing..so the situation of mutual mistrust prevails.

 

[lula]

Actually, that's not true. They pay have to pay income tax and VAT just the same as the rest of us. I'm a teacher and we have quite a lot of traveller kids at our school. For the most part, lovely kids. Sure, some troublemakers - same as the rest of the student population really.

I've had crimes committed against me and my family up to and including murder by people from all sectors of society - judging by this thread I should just hate everyone equally.

as a teacher unbalanced, from what ive learned from the media and programmes such as 'My Fat Gypsy Wedding' Do you find it frustrating at all as their teacher that all the hours of work you spend educating these young people is wasted since the traveller tradition dictates girls will leave school as young as age 12 in order to prepare for a life of marriage, cooking and cleaning? They will never, as they dont want them - careers or jobs.
Genuine question.

sorry, i know im verring off topic a bit

 

[Monkers]

Actually, that's not true. They pay have to pay income tax and VAT just the same as the rest of us. I'm a teacher and we have quite a lot of traveller kids at our school. For the most part, lovely kids. Sure, some troublemakers - same as the rest of the student population really.

I've had crimes committed against me and my family up to and including murder by people from all sectors of society - judging by this thread I should just hate everyone equally.

A traveller fill in a tax return?? You just made my evening!

 

[sjmcc]

Why do people keep insist on calling them an ethnic group. They are no more ethnic than I am. They are mainly irish who have no right to be here and are up to all the tricks known to man and claim everything going. They are practised in bending the law to suit them and we all let them. It is time this government put a stop to all their planning appeals and made them join the council waiting list if they want houses. They are not gypsies as real gypsies would not behave this way, they are low life thieves and conmen and women who are playing the race card because it gets them what they want. There are two instances locally were a hot shot lawyer has overturned the council on giving these a....h....s permission to put up their sites and it has resulted in a lot of people losing a lot of money as well as personal possessions. Stop making out these people are prejudiced against, they are not a special case, they are laughing at us for allowing them to do as they want. I despair of this country, lily livered lot of politicians who would certainly do something if they were down their street or village!

id of also pressed the like button if you had one . i dont live rent free i pay tax and follow the rules set by the law

 

[HuntingFiona]

I have had a bad experience with them - we had some in the area last year my hubby heard our dogs barking , we live off road quite isolated and found 2 men in our building where our stables saddles etc are kept, they said they wanted to buy some Hay, we explained we did'nt have any to sell,

since then I have been paranoid - keep by tack in the house now, but i cant do this with my horses, just be very careful

 

[Fiagai]

We have several travellers around here.
I fell in with them some years ago when the 'chief' had a foal that wouldn't suckle. I sorted that out and then the following year foaled a mare for him when the vet couldn't get there.

We never had a thing stollen from the place and when two young lads did attempt a break in the chief came around to ask about it and I then heard that it had been 'sorted'

I had an attempted break in just before Christmas last year. It had to be someone who knew the layout because they came in across the fields.
About two months before this event the chief's son had been down here to pick up some scrap - I reported this fact to the chief and again things were 'sorted'

I have heard many tales, they do not usually **** on their own dooor step but tell others about what is where.

A friends coloured cob was stollen from her field. They rode her bareback at night some 20 miles - only by getting the help of the local travellers did they find out where she was and by paying someone to take her and tether her away from the site did they get her back. The police didn't want to know saying that there was no way to recognise a coloured cob! This was despite pictures, a passport showing a distinctive scar!

I am always polite to them but trust them as far as I can spit into a gale force wind!

***THIS***

I know of one lady who had a group move to an encampment adjacent to her property. Like that she got to 'know" the chief so to speak and was "looked" after by them...ie it is never the ones that you know that will cause the problems which are often reported...

 

[ROG]

I met up with an Essex trucker a few days a go and he lives very very close to dale farm

He stated that getting rid of half the camp was utterly stupid as it has not made any difference to those living close to that site

It has however had an impact on those in the surrounding areas with evicted travellers having to park whever they can

What a waste of millions of taxpayers money which IMO was done to make a point and not done for the benefit of the majority

 

[YasandCrystal]

Wow I feel so offended and upset right now! I think people are really mixing up 'traveller' and 'gypsy'. Irish travellers where the people shown in dale farm, my big fat gypsy wedding etc.
My nan is a Romany who married a 'normal' settled person and while she was pretty much outcasted from other Romany families, I still know quite a few of them now. All of them are really nice, just a different culture to ours. I can't speak for the irish travellers, but I'm sure that each social and ethnic group in every country have there good and bad points. I'm upset that racisim still is alive and kicking in the UK and I feel that by branding gypsies people are labelling me as well

I feel for you. The Romany gypsies are imo lovely people. I befriended a small family group who did travel about locally. They had a proper bow topped caravan and horse and a pick up and they turned products out of wood to make a living. They were polite, clean living and they really cared and looked after their horse and took on another neglected youngster too. Many of the local community supported them and their way of life and surprisingly it was the Council that made their life hell. Probably because it was just one family that the Council felt they could intimidate them. Infact the community signed a petition for the Council to leave them alone, they felt such strong support for this pleasant family.

The 'new travellers' are a different breed and I doubt very much they are of any Romany descent at all. These are the groups that foul our beautiful countryside and intimidate whole communities and steal from the surrounding neighbourhood. Intimidating police and householders and flaunting the law.

I would hope to think that people can understand and discern the huge difference from a true Romany and the modern traveller. They are like chalk and cheese.

 

[goldenmint]

When I was younger I had a close relationship with a traveller family. I was accepted by them and used to spend a fair bit of time at their home. I also met their extended family and community. So feel I can have an opinion on this topic. I also knew some gypsies that lived in traditional caravans, in fact they knew me from a baby and my family.
The true gypsy would never hurt or steal from anyone, infact anyone found doing so would be ostracised. They were very clean people,example if a dog ever licked a plate they would smash that plate so nobody could use it. They recommended traditional medicines if someone was Ill and were generally nice people interested in the community, not just the gypsy community either.

It is a very different case with these travellers. They will steal whatever they want and from whoever they want. Don't fir a second presume they wouldn't s@it on their own doorstep.

They really are trouble and do not care what laws everyone else lives by, aslong as they get what they want then it's f@@k everyone else. They don't even care about stealing from each other, sobpeople saying that they are misunderstood and not all of them are like that etc are wrong.

If you have them living next door to you FGS do not turn you back for a second!

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

I was talking to a solicitor, he had a previous career as a debt chaser and got told to go onto a travellers site to get the money for a brand new car that one particular guy had not paid on his finance for. He was invited into the caravan, made a cup of tea and had a lovely conversation about the weather and family... and then asked if he could have the money for the car that was parked outside the caravan. The gypsy stood up, took the cushion off the seat and opened the hatch to show a massive pile of money, he said that was the money- put his hand into the hatch and pulled out a shot gun, said "you're not getting, and you'll not take my car either".

Needless to say that lead to a complete career change and he's now a criminal solicitor!

 

[Tank_08]

We get some in the car park in the town where i live... you know when they're coming because you have a white van driving round farms a week before, then the caravans turn up and everything goes missing!!
I stay clear of the ones we get because they are quite violent and i've heard some terrible stories about them... :/

 

[Ashleigh_]

I always feel so torn when I see posts like this My instinct tells me to defend their community, but when I hear of the trouble that's started by some of them I don't feel my opinion has a leg to stand on.

I have a traveller family livery with me at my current yard. They are the NICEST people, kind and funny, care tremendously about their horses, and really focus their daughter to stay in school and have a career. From the outset, you'd probably tar this family with the same brush as everyone else, after all they do live in a trailer and socialise well within the traveller community. It just makes me sad for them I guess, they receive such horrible prejudice for the society they are a part of and yet if you looked at them as individuals you wouldn't meet nicer people.

On the other hand, my flat mate's neighbours were going through a really horrible time last winter as their Dad had tragically died. In an attempt to cheer the kids up over the festive season (especially the youngest daughter who was around 8) they decided to take on a young rescue dog, sort of as a 'gift from their Dad'. As you can imagine they all got very attached, they had something to love, care for, and smile about. Two weeks in some travellers stole the dog.. kids were devastated and thought it had got lost and were understandably more distraught when they discovered it was with the travellers and was being held as some sort of ransom. No authority wanted to get involved so they ended up paying a ridiculous sum of money to get the dog back. Poor thing came back shaking with cuts all over it's legs and face...god knows what it had been through.


It just proves how they really don't help each other. I often wish the 'good travellers' would speak up for themselves far more and let society know they do exist.

 

[ponypilotmum]

"No, there are plenty of units for traveller children here.
They are notoriously hard to keep in school because of their culture and they get hell in mainstream schools for a variety of reasons."

This is a mainstream school, not a unit, it was full of local children when we moved here 10 years ago, Its also an adult centre, all funded by the tax payer. We know they don't pay taxes, several have been in jail because of money laundering and one for murder, they bought a local 45 acre farm with laundered money, we have police helicopters/dogs around all the time, the've been raided, and were even spotted nicking my Landrover and driving into a container ready to be shipped off to Ireland!! The police did nothing!, however my insurance paid up within days and paid out more than it was worth? how do make that out?!


I agree there are good and bad, and tbh I haven't had any personal problems with them for a few year now, even though there are well over a hundred within a mile of my house. Its the problem of " they seem to be able to do whatever they like wherever they like" that annoys me; We've been trying to sell our house for over 2 years, the price has dropped nearl 200K in three years ( I know some is because of bad times )

Its very hard not to be prejudist, and I try hard not to be, some of the ones I have met while out riding have been polite, but only yesterday a couple of young girls passed me and thought it funny to slow down then put their foot down as they got to me screetching and leaving tyre marks on the road and almost losing control, I've made my point and anyone who wants to buy a 6 acre farm let me know

Angie, I know the village you speak of, and the school was a wonderful little school. I attended it myself as a child for various netball matches, and friends went there prior to attending the secondary I attended.

The travellers moved their children there, and the non traveller parents moved theirs out. It was a sad state of affairs and was quite a hoo-ha at the time.

I'm 1/4 of a mile from the farm you mention, and a mile from you, and yes, it really is that bad living near 'them'.

are you in the 'white' house IN the village? If so, it's stunning! (I spent about a week looking at the photos online and trying to work out how to raise enough lol) . It's a village we looked at but decided against because the primary no longer takes non traveller children, and education close by is important to us. I believe the school has now closed down?

Also a victim of traveller light fingers and as far as I can get away from them the better.

There was also a local farmer who had all his war medals and his wife's ashes stolen by traveller children, they broke in while he was in bed I seem to recall

 

[Fairynuff]

Yes, there are lots of travellers near me. My experience of them is I'm polite to them, they're polite to me. Some of them are friendly and helpful, some aren't. Just people really.

I've never had any problem with them.

I wouldn't keep my horse the same way as they keep theirs, but that's a matter of different cultural attitudes.

I'd try to remove the pre-conceived ideas you've seen in the media and give them a chance, if I was you.

a woman after my own heart! Lovely reply Fiona

 

[ivandenisovich10]

We have a fairly large static camp about 5 miles away, when we moved in they did steal some wood and roofing and fly tipped in a layby next to our house, OH loaded it up and we took it back to them and put it in their drive way, we havnt had any more fly tips and if we do they will be getting it back again

 

[Ashleigh_]

There was also a local farmer who had all his war medals and his wife's ashes stolen by traveller children, they broke in while he was in bed I seem to recall

Oh my god.
I am beyond words...

 

[Cedars]

It would be really interesting to se statistics of population percentage that commit crimes.

 

[SNORKEY]

I caught them cutting the padlock and chain off one of our fields last summer when they were looking to move from the land they were on down the road!

They trashed the farmers land, and were even caught having a poo behind a car wash at the local petrol station!!!

Id just ignore them if you see them and mark your rugs with your post code, and block any field gates with something very big and heavy, or dig out a big ditch so they cant drive over it!

They also did drive up to our yard and look around when it was busy last year,there is a business run from the residence there, that's when we decided to all take our tack home!

I wont say who I work for, but I hear everything that happens when they are near by, they wonder why people dislike them, but they give them selves a bad name!