Travellers leave because 'everyone is rude and it stinks'

TRAVELLERS have hooked up and moved out of town.

A group living in more than 15 caravans left Grimsby's Pyewipe industrial estate yesterday.

As reported on www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk, the convoy headed out of town on the A180.

Some travellers have remained at two smaller camps in Cleethorpes, at an illegal site near to Pennells garden centre and another off Hewitt's Avenue on an access road to an electricity sub-station.

The first convoy of travellers left the underpass, which links Pyewipe with The Willows, at around 12.30pm yesterday.

Another group moved off the site later in the day.

It was littered with refuse and abandoned toys.

One mother complained the hostility from residents had forced her fellow travellers to leave the area.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have been here just over a week but we are going because everyone is so rude and it stinks.

"We have had police officers down here saying how nice we are. The only complaint we got round here was someone objecting to the noise of one of the generators. But the A180 goes overhead, so I don't think it was any louder than that.

"But we had people cycling past banging on the windows at 6am shouting 'get lost gypos' and 'go home', but we have not caused any bother at all.

"In response, people have been racist and hostile. One of the staff at a petrol station refused to serve us. But I was born in Basildon. I have an English passport. We still pay taxes."

The mother said: "We were not looking for anything from anybody. All we want is a place to go and stay. We would like to buy some land. But even though you have the money to buy it you still can't get it because you need a licence."

She added: "The work situation around here isn't good so we are moving on so we can find some more work in another area. We will probably go to Hull."

Leader of the Conservative Group on North East Lincolnshire Council, Councillor Keith Brookes, said: "That is excellent news for the people of North East Lincolnshire. It shows the point we made when they first arrived three or four weeks ago, which is you must not let up and you have to keep the momentum going and moving them on from site to site.

"It is all about who is determined the most. We have shown that we will not tolerate people who do damage and leave a lot of mess and are not welcomed.

"Enforcement notices are the best way to make sure they keep moving."