BOROUGH council leader Tony Ball was bombarded with hate mail and received a death threat during the operation to clear Europe's largest illegal traveller site at Dale Farm one year ago.
Cllr Ball, who represents Wickford North, told the Gazette he was sent a graphic photograph of the corpse of the late Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi accompanied by a message which read: "Sewer rat" and "This should have been you".
As well as the photo, he said he received several "extremely unpleasant" phone calls, letters and e-mails during the course of the £7.2 million eviction of 86 traveller families from the six acre green belt site in Crays Hill last year.
Speaking about the hate mail for the first time, this week, Cllr Ball also revealed how Essex Police had monitored his e-mail account and post during the operation to clear the former scrapyard, which made headlines around the world.
"I have been reluctant to say anything in the past because I am not looking for sympathy," said Cllr Ball.
"But at the time there were some extremely unpleasant phone calls, letters and e-mails that came my way. I didn't take the threats very seriously and I have never responded to them but it was not very pleasant.
"There were even some phone calls to my home phone which were extremely distressing to my family and unacceptable as far as I am concerned."
Cllr Ball also received many messages of support for Basildon Borough Council during the eviction.
"The overwhelming majority of e-mails, phone calls and letters that I received were of support and that was extremely gratifying," he said.
A year on and Cllr Ball remains convinced that the council was correct to move the travellers on.
"I am still clear in my mind that what we did was the right thing," he said.
"Doing nothing was simply not an option. This was about upholding the law – something that every public body is expected to do and something that the majority of our residents supported."
Despite most of the traveller families having moved away, around 20 caravans remain illegally at the roadside in Oak Lane, the road which gives access to the now sealed-off site.
It is a setback for the council but Cllr Ball reiterated his determination to resolve the issue once and for all.
He said: "Since November 2011, the council has been working tirelessly to deal with the continued breaking of planning and civil law on Oak Lane.
"We are dealing with these issues and we are working through the legal and planning process which does take time and has to be done step by step."
He added: "Every single issue in the Oak Lane area at the moment has its origins in the persistent law-breaking of the traveller community over the last ten years."
