Gypsy camp causes mayhem in Chippenham

10:30am Thursday 15th May 2008

Gypsies caused mayhem in Chippenham this week after setting up camp at Stanley Park playing fields and putting one of Wiltshire's biggest football tournaments at risk.

Organisers thought the tournament would have to be scrapped after more than ten caravans came onto the site just days before kick off.

But the gypsies, who arrived last Friday, left on Tuesday morning.

Now organisers are busy cleaning the pitches ready for the annual FC Chippenham Youth six-a-side football tournament, one of the biggest youth league events in the county.

Stanley Park community football development officer Pete Hussey said: "If we had to cancel the event it would have been catastrophic for FC Chippenham.

"This is one of the biggest dates on the calendar for youth football with over 250 teams coming.

"It was slightly worrying at one point when people were trying to negotiate with the gypsies but they just were not listening.

"There is human faeces all over the pitches and it was an environmental health issue. We didn't know what mess they would leave."

The gypsies moved to Chippenham Rugby Club last Thursday but were told to move.

They went to Bumpers Farm industrial estate before going to Stanley Park football ground on Friday and onto Oddstock in Salisbury late on Tuesday morning.

One traveller, who wished to remain anonymous said: "We are sick and tired of all this talk about a permanent gypsy site when the council has made no attempt to talk through the plan with us.

"We have children who want some kind of normality and to be harassed by the police was awful.

"We are just travellers - we cause no harm and try not to upset people, but everyone is so determined to stick the knife in.

"Everyone says they don't want us in their backyard but we only stay on public property.

"The whole point of being travellers is to have freedom over where we stay and this is something the council don't seem to understand.

"We are not a problem or a nuisance and the council cannot just give us a field and be done with it."

Chippenham police sergeant Martin Alvis said: "We simply asked the travellers to move on after we received a complaint from the landowner.

"After they moved, we received reports they had moved to Pewsham.

"We then agreed with the gypsy liaison officer that they could stay at Stanley Park until Monday morning because we could not find them alternative accommodation.

"We were not aggressive towards them but simply told them the facts."