A COMMUNITY of travellers have narrowly avoided legal action after taking up residence on a rural village's picturesque green.
Residents in Hatfield Heath, which has just 830 houses, were left dismayed when more than ten gypsy caravans and their owners pitched up, along with their animals, off the A1060 Chelmsford Road.
Lord of the Manor, Rupert Gosling, who owns the site, had considered taking the travellers to county court but on Tuesday evening it appeared they had bowed to pressure, and vacated the village for now.
The group of travelling families had arrived in the village, just past The Rodings, on the evening of August 15 with 11 caravans, horses and dogs.
As well as allegedly leaving rubbish and excrement on the communal area, the travellers have been blamed for the cancellation of cricket matches hosted by the local club after setting up home on the players' outfield.
"I tried to ask them politely to move on for our game on Saturday but they were demanding money and beer in order to do so," said cricket captain Mark Graves.
"When we arrived for the match at the weekend they just wouldn't move, although cricket has been played on that patch for over 100 years.
"We've had the travelling community coming here for a quite a few years, even though they're unwelcome they seem to show up again and again, but this is the first time that they've actually taken over the outfield – it was an absolute disgrace."
Five of the caravans had remained at the site until Tuesday evening risking a civil eviction order if the case had been taken to court, but they left before this could be taken further.
Police officers had been spotted overseeing the set-up on Monday afternoon but it appears they were powerless to intervene without the granting of the court order.
And after being contacted by Mr Graves, and other residents, on the issue, MP Alan Haselhurst has also pledged his support to help in whatever way he can.
"They've all gone now but it's a recurring problem in the village and local people understandably are getting sick and tired as there's always a mess left when they've gone," he said.
"The problem is that if the land concerned is land to which the public has a right of access, how can we discriminate against a particular group as that would raise questions of their human rights?
"But I will be looking at the possibility of an injunction against unauthorised encampments and to see if there is a loophole in the current law that can be closed."
