Travellers in village are on 'holiday'

"IT'S like being on holiday."

That was the pleasure spoken of by one of the travellers who have set up camp in Laceby.

The young mother said the group had travelled from Scarborough and expect to return to East Yorkshire for Pickering Fair later this week.

She joined a group of eight other travellers who moved into a field next to the allotment.

The field is believed to be owned by the Lincoln Diocese.

The traveller said: "The public perception is that all travellers are the same but no one is here to make a nuisance of themselves or cause trouble for anyone.

"I have only been here a couple of days and will be heading back to Pickering for the fair.

"That's what we do. We follow the fairs around the country.

"It is like being on holiday. As soon as the kids finish school for the holidays, we go around with the fairs.

"I have not been into Laceby; there is nothing that attracts me there.

"We have everything here – a generator, a toilet and a shower. We don't need running water.

"People think we are dirty, but we have all we have here and if anything needs washing, I go to a launderette."

A Laceby villager who did not wish to be named expressed concern when more travellers arrived in the field next to the allotment over the weekend.

He claimed allotment holders are staying on site late at night and visiting from 5am.

He explained: "It worries them; people don't say anything and public apathy kicks in, but when it all goes wrong there is uproar.

"We have been staying later at night and going down earlier. We have binoculars to keep an eye on the boundary."

Another villager said: "They are not bothering anybody and there has been no trouble."

And one added: "They are polite and they don't make a noise. You can hear the children, but that is normal for children.

"The council has given them wheelie bins."

The camp at Laceby is the only group of travellers believed to be in North East Lincolnshire at this time.