C4 dispatches ‘the truth about traveller crime’

[WalkedUp]

12 hours ago, Stuarta said:

Many years ago my friends son was knocked off his bike and killed by a driver cutting across a corner. The police attended and the driver was an Irish Tinker. He gave an address of a caravan park on the edge of Oxford, He had no birth certificate or other documents to prove his identity and only produced a paper copy of a driving license. Did he turn up at court, of course not he had disappeared and no one knows who he really was.
Thames Valley Police have had an officer dragged behind a car drive by these travellers and this time they have not let them disappear, stable door and all that.

I am sorry about your friend’s son. That is awful by the killer and naive by the police. 

[JohnfromUK]

46 minutes ago, panoma1 said:

Sounds like your friend, his family and the victim were badly let down?

Sadly, this is not unusual when traveller/traffic incident offences occur.

25 years ago a local young man (just married) was knocked off him motorcycle by an under age, unlicensed, uninsured driver from the travelling community (on the public road and if I remember right in a stolen car).  He has been in a wheelchair ever since.  The travellers disappeared and police were 'unable to find them'.

[Rewulf]

4 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

How do you mean? Did this happen yesterday? Yes. Was it witnessed by a colleague sat in my car? Yes. 

You do realise that caravan had likely just been nicked by this young gentleman 😀

 

4 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

He looked too young to hold a driver’s licence, it’s a safe bet there was no insurance. 

[WalkedUp]

46 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

You do realise that caravan had likely just been nicked by this young gentleman 😀

 

To be fair it did cross my mind, but I know I carry a prejudice. I really should have called the police on 111 and noted the car reg etc but the idiots being delayed started honking like maniacs and I could feel I was going to lose my cool with the other drivers in front of a colleague. 

[henry d]

4 hours ago, Newbie to this said:

So using 'Gay' as an insult isn't homophobic, righto 

Go back and read it again and tell me where I used the word gay. 

I have never seen either of you nor do I know what personal pronouns you use, I hazarded a guess.

[Scully]

3 hours ago, JohnfromUK said:

Sadly, this is not unusual when traveller/traffic incident offences occur.

25 years ago a local young man (just married) was knocked off him motorcycle by an under age, unlicensed, uninsured driver from the travelling community (on the public road and if I remember right in a stolen car).  He has been in a wheelchair ever since.  The travellers disappeared and police were 'unable to find them'.

Similar happened to a bloke I knew in town. He suffered an at the scene traumatic blunt amputation below the knee when an illegally driven transit van pulled out of a junction and collided with his bike prior to Fair week. The vehicle left the scene and was later found abandoned but the occupants were traced. The vehicle was untaxed and the driver found to be under age so no insurance either. I can’t recall what happened to them , but the biker gets along on a prosthetic limb now. 

[Rewulf]

17 minutes ago, henry d said:

have never seen either of you nor do I know what personal pronouns you use, I hazarded a guess.

Coo eeee , you have now luvvie 

[southeastpete]

3 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

To be fair it did cross my mind, but I know I carry a prejudice. I really should have called the police on 111 and noted the car reg etc but the idiots being delayed started honking like maniacs and I could feel I was going to lose my cool with the other drivers in front of a colleague. 

You should have blocked his path and called 999....!

cant believe you would just give directions and allow him on his way...

you express sympathy above for someone who was killed, how would you feel if you read in the news that another ten miles down the road this pi... ummm traveller had killed someone else’s child...

anyone who buys from these people, has them do work, or allows them to carry on with their behaviour is just enabling them. 

[WalkedUp]

2 minutes ago, southeastpete said:

You should have blocked his path and called 999....!

cant believe you would just give directions and allow him on his way...

you express sympathy above for someone who was killed, how would you feel if you read in the news that another ten miles down the road this pi... ummm traveller had killed someone else’s child...

anyone who buys from these people, has them do work, or allows them to carry on with their behaviour is just enabling them. 

I am not sure I agree.

I’m unfortunately known to my colleagues, friends and family as somehow of a ‘vigilante’. Any opportunity and I seem to find myself involved, with the scars to prove it. I’ve intervened in countless incidents, involving the police dozens of times during assaults/vandalism/theft/fly tipping when criminal acts have been clearly apparent. However from previous experience I don’t believe it was realistic for me (or any civilian) to appoint myself as a criminal inspector  blocking the road on suspicion of a crime, whilst operating on little more than a hunch regarding travellers and my prejudice against drivers too young to grow facial hair. I’ve been run over on my bicycle and the police didn’t attend, they certainly wouldn’t come out on 999 for a car driving badly. Taking the number plate and calling 111 to alert the police to a suspicious and dangerous vehicle and potentially underage driver would have been appropriate and I should have thought to do it but having not done is also fine, obviously I would take no responsibility or even a second thought for any accidents caused by the lad as I had neither the information nor authority to act in any different manner. If there was space to pull over and chat without risking an accident for 3rd parties then perhaps I would have spoke with him further to ascertain his credentials and details. 

[Newbie to this]

1 hour ago, henry d said:

Go back and read it again and tell me where I used the word gay. 

I have never seen either of you nor do I know what personal pronouns you use, I hazarded a guess.

Nice try.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Newbie to this

[henry d]

I rest my case.

[southeastpete]

9 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

I am not sure I agree.

I’m unfortunately known to my colleagues, friends and family as somehow of a ‘vigilante’. Any opportunity and I seem to find myself involved, with the scars to prove it. I’ve intervened in countless incidents, involving the police dozens of times during assaults/vandalism/theft/fly tipping when criminal acts have been clearly apparent. However from previous experience I don’t believe it was realistic for me (or any civilian) to appoint myself as a criminal inspector  blocking the road on suspicion of a crime, whilst operating on little more than a hunch regarding travellers and my prejudice against drivers too young to grow facial hair. I’ve been run over on my bicycle and the police didn’t attend, they certainly wouldn’t come out on 999 for a car driving badly. Taking the number plate and calling 111 to alert the police to a suspicious and dangerous vehicle and potentially underage driver would have been appropriate and I should have thought to do it but having not done is also fine, obviously I would take no responsibility or even a second thought for any accidents caused by the lad as I had neither the information nor authority to act in any different manner. If there was space to pull over and chat without risking an accident for 3rd parties then perhaps I would have spoke with him further to ascertain his credentials and details. 

Ok, I thought you were saying it was obvious it was a child, driving erratically.

personally, if I’d witnessed that and not done something and someone had ended up dead down the road, I would definitely feel responsible.

[daveboy]

Big horse fair coming up (first week in June) will they stay away???

[Yellow Bear]

1 minute ago, daveboy said:

Big horse fair coming up (first week in June) will they stay away???

Do pigs have wings to fly over the unicorns???

[Scully]

1 hour ago, daveboy said:

Big horse fair coming up (first week in June) will they stay away???

Some may try to travel, but the police will stop them just as they did during F&M. They were adamant then they would come but nobody did. 

[mick miller]

Like HenryD, I have always found them helpful people. Round here they;

Help themselves to church roof lead
Help themselves to farm machinery
Help themselves to your heating oil (usually drilling into the tank, thanks for that)
Help themselves to the contents of your shed
Help themselves to your pets
Help themselves to copper wiring
Help themselves to anything you haven't tied down and, even if you have, they help themselves anyway.

Very helpful indeed.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

 

4 minutes ago, mick miller said:

Like HenryD, I have always found them helpful people. Round here they;

Help themselves to church roof lead
Help themselves to farm machinery
Help themselves to your heating oil (usually drilling into the tank, thanks for that)
Help themselves to the contents of your shed
Help themselves to your pets
Help themselves to copper wiring
Help themselves to anything you haven't tied down and, even if you have, they help themselves anyway.

Very helpful indeed.

Can we send you some more of the "Oh so helpful" people?

[mick miller]

1 minute ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

 

Can we send you some more of the "Oh so helpful" people?

We already have plenty thanks, the recent impromptu encampment, now granted planning after the fact was an eye opener for the few village idiots still prepared to defend them.

Piece of land comes up for sale with restrictions that it can only be used for horses, buyer purchases and tries to get planning, planning is refused. Travellers buy the land and over a bank holiday weekend (can't think why that date was chosen) they moved in, pulled up all the old trees, dug up the road to connect utilities illegally, built a road complete with tarmac, installed fencing and divided the land into several 'pitches'.  Of course, despite complaints from the locals, planning was granted after the fact. Try that yourself and see how it pans out for you.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

3 minutes ago, mick miller said:

We already have plenty thanks, the recent impromptu encampment, now granted planning after the fact was an eye opener for the few village idiots still prepared to defend them.

Piece of land comes up for sale with restrictions that it can only be used for horses, buyer purchases and tries to get planning, planning is refused. Travellers buy the land and over a bank holiday weekend (can't think why that date was chosen) they moved in, pulled up all the old trees, dug up the road to connect utilities illegally, built a road complete with tarmac, installed fencing and divided the land into several 'pitches'.  Of course, despite complaints from the locals, planning was granted after the fact. Try that yourself and see how it pans out for you.

Yes we have that in Peterborough too.

[panoma1]

1 hour ago, mick miller said:

We already have plenty thanks, the recent impromptu encampment, now granted planning after the fact was an eye opener for the few village idiots still prepared to defend them.

Piece of land comes up for sale with restrictions that it can only be used for horses, buyer purchases and tries to get planning, planning is refused. Travellers buy the land and over a bank holiday weekend (can't think why that date was chosen) they moved in, pulled up all the old trees, dug up the road to connect utilities illegally, built a road complete with tarmac, installed fencing and divided the land into several 'pitches'.  Of course, despite complaints from the locals, planning was granted after the fact. Try that yourself and see how it pans out for you.

That happened in the leafy area of Meridan, a few years ago......as I recall the travellers applied for retrospective permission, the locals objected, and kept up a campaign (and a protest presence at the site) against the encampment, it all went to court (at the residents expense).........then I understand, to appeal.........the local residents finally and in my opinion, quite rightly won, and the travellers finally had to move on! 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Just now, panoma1 said:

That happened in the leafy area of Meridan, a few years ago......as I recall the travellers applied for retrospective permission, the locals objected, and kept up a campaign (and a protest presence at the site) against the encampment, it all went to court (at the residents expense).........then I understand, to appeal.........the local residents finally and in my opinion, quite rightly won, and the travellers finally had to move on! 

That doesn't happen very often!

[White Rabbit]

On 25/04/2020 at 13:23, daveboy said:

Big horse fair coming up (first week in June) will they stay away???

Just an update for those interested.

Answer: No.

Caravans at Stainmore cafe, North Stainmore road end and South road, Kirkby Stephen.

Police have issued fixed penalty notices and are "aware". They're still there. Pathetic.

When will society rise up against these people once and for all.

WR. 

[Newbie to this]

13 minutes ago, White Rabbit said:

When will society rise up against these people once and for all.

Too late for that, they have protected status!

[McSpredder]

14 minutes ago, White Rabbit said:

Police have issued fixed penalty notices and are "aware".

Just wondering.   What is the procedure for enforcement of a fixed penalty notice if the person is of no fixed abode, or claims to have no assets?

[Scully]

28 minutes ago, White Rabbit said:

Just an update for those interested.

Answer: No.

Caravans at Stainmore cafe, North Stainmore road end and South road, Kirkby Stephen.

Police have issued fixed penalty notices and are "aware". They're still there. Pathetic.

When will society rise up against these people once and for all.

WR. 

They have been seen around for the last week or so; this weekend just gone is traditionally ‘trotting weekend’. 
They won’t get on the hill.