A disgruntled landowner claims that a group of “travellers” are illegally occupying his property and has done everything humanly possible to evict them – or rather, to lock them in. He has erected 30 large, one-meter-high concrete bollards in front of the entrance.
Malcolm Thorpe, a Briton from Bembridge on the Isle of Wright, claims he bought the area’s largest car park in 2011 and opened it up to the public for use. But Thorpe, who owns the Bembridge Harbour Authority, said travellers had been abusing the area, which fronts Bembridge Beach, for more than two years.
He said the nomadic community eventually settled permanently at the site and “left their excrement on the land and dumped all their garbage on the side of the road.” After negotiations failed, Thorpe took matters into his own hands and installed the bollards.
The group is now unable to leave the parking lot with their vehicles, and tourists are also no longer able to park there. Thorpe said he would only allow the travelers to leave if they all agreed to do so at once.
Travelling community receives ultimatum from annoyed landowner
If they reject the offer, they would have to bear the costs of removing the bollards themselves, he said.
“If they came as a group and said they all wanted to leave, I would do it for free,” he said, reported The Telegraph. “But if they wanted to leave individually, they would have to pay for a crane to come and remove the bollards. That’s the only way they’re removing them now.”
“They left their excrement on the ground and dumped all their garbage on the side of the road,” he said.
Dale Coulson, a 70-year-old traveller in the group, said he had no plans to leave. He claims he had parked on a village green – a shared open area within a village or other settlement – and that, contrary to reports, he had kept the place clean and tidy.
“We’re stuck here now and we feel like we’re fighting for everyone’s cause,” he told the Telegraph. “We want the freedom to leave and come back… we’re going to be a thorn in his side until he moves on.”
The Isle of Wight council reportedly said it had no jurisdiction as the parking war was taking place on private land. But Thorpe is confident it will prevail. “I think we will be able to encourage them one way or another. I’m sure the problem will be solved,” he said.
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