Letter: Travellers: once a farmer's friend, now a New Age enemy to the land
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Why should we continue to suffer and pay for the exploits of an indolent, arrogant and aggressive minority sector of society? I refer to the New Age travellers, who seem hellbent on doing exactly what they want to, when they want to, at the expense of the taxpayer's pocket and the majority of the population's health and sanity.
A recent catalogue of events comes from a small town near Ashbourne, in Derbyshire. It epitomises the sad state that our society has reached, where the police are powerless to prevent travellers breaking the law and the public are too frightened to stand up for themselves for fear of retaliation.
Between 600 and 700 travellers are currently pitching camp on a disused airfield near Ashbourne that is surrounded by farmland. They have encroached on cultivated land and, apart from the vehicular damage to standing crops, one of our members has been advised to burn off and plough-in any land on which the travellers have intruded because of the danger from contamination from human excreta and used needles.
The same member has had three sheep killed and one injured by travellers' dogs. A neighbour has had eight sheep killed and we understand more are likely to die from their injuries. Local supermarkets are being raided for alcohol and residents and farmhouse bed and breakfast guests have had their sleep disturbed nightly by music, culminating at the weekend in an all-night rave party.
As well as the threat to the rural economy that these people pose, they are also starting to erode the viability of our rural tourism industry through the adverse publicity generated by their actions. As farm tourism is rapidly becoming a significant income generator, we cannot allow this to happen.
If, in this instance, the police are incapable of doing the job properly, then surely the time has come when these travellers should be controlled by a more rigorous issue of the social security payments, which fund their activities, from their home town only? And should not the landowners whom they exploit be adequately compensated for the damage and loss of income that they cause?
Yours faithfully,
BERNI MILLER
Chief Executive
Farm Holiday Bureau
Stoneleigh, Warwickshire
24 July
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments