The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A family have spoken of being terrorised and their property used as a toilet by a particular group of travellers whose stops in the area led to what Spalding’s top cop said was an “unprecedented increase” in police calls.
Inspector Gareth Boxall said that members of the public have had to “endure anti-social behaviour and intimidation” from members of the community who stopped in Gedney and Sutton Bridge.
On both occasions the police were able to move on the collection of caravans after several incidents were reported.
One family, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The kids were running all over the place trespassing and shouting verbal abuse.
“There’s a trampoline in the garden for the grandchildren they kept using which we’ve since found has been slashed four or five times with a knife.
“The most disgusting thing however was the community using my parents’ garage as a toilet leaving piles of human faeces and soiled toilet paper.
“The level of stress with constantly calling the police and making sure properties and an expanse of land was secure was extremely high.”
The group initially set up camp on private ground at
Victory Hall in Gedney on Tuesday, June 26 before heading to Sutton Bridge on Thursday after being moved on by police.
After a similar number of calls, police moved them on again on Sunday and this time they went out of the area.
Inspector Boxall said: “Over the last few days we saw an unprecedented increase in calls from the public needing our assistance. That’s about an extra 30 per cent of incidents which our officers are now sorting through to prioritise and investigate, on top of a normal day’s work.
“I’m really grateful to the public for being supportive and understanding of how difficult a situation this was to resolve. Our officers can only work within the law and the powers available to them but I understand that this can be frustrating for those having to endure anti-social behaviour and intimidation.”
