0:00:09 > 0:00:11Dale Farm.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13A thousand Irish Travellers -
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Europe's biggest illegal encampment...
0:00:17 > 0:00:20..right in the heart of Essex.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22# Back through the years
0:00:22 > 0:00:25# I go wandering once again...
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Conflict has raged between Travellers, residents
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and the council for ten years.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Next - they claim it's the biggest unauthorised Traveller site
0:00:35 > 0:00:38in Europe, and they don't want it on their doorstep.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41I've had death threats on national television,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44but I won't let them intimidate me.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46WOMAN SHOUTS
0:00:46 > 0:00:50He's thinking, "Please get rid of all the Travellers."
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I guess we're thinking, "Please get rid of him!"
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Legal battles have been fought in the Court of Appeal,
0:00:55 > 0:00:59the House of Lords, and the European Court of Human Rights.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02The Gypsies have lost them all,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and now face an £8 million eviction.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08There's not a person out here that won't fight for their rights.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12They're not going to go peacefully. There's going to be a lot of lives lost.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15THEY SHOUT
0:01:15 > 0:01:18# Each of them was small
0:01:18 > 0:01:20# I didn't have a coat
0:01:20 > 0:01:23# And it was way down in the fall
0:01:23 > 0:01:27# Just find the others laughing
0:01:27 > 0:01:29# And making fun of me
0:01:29 > 0:01:32# And my coat of many colours
0:01:32 > 0:01:36# My mamma made for me...
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Dale Farm -
0:01:51 > 0:01:56the most contentious Gypsy site in the UK.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59The Irish Travellers here own the land.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04They've laid tarmac, built walls and put up chalets.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08But it's green belt, and only half of them have planning permission to live here.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15The council has vowed to have 400 Travellers off by May 2011,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18eight months from now.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23My one daughter lives there, next door.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25'I've filmed Mary Anne McCarthy and her family
0:02:25 > 0:02:27'over the last six years.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31'She's lived here on the illegal site since 2002,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34'along with her seven children, 20 grandchildren
0:02:34 > 0:02:36'and four great-grandchildren.'
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- And Tina lives over there as well. - Another daughter?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Yeah. Another daughter.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45And just straight across the road there, my oldest daughter, Marie,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48she lives.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Dale Farm has given Mary Anne and her family a sense of settled life.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56They use the local schools, hospitals,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58and the Catholic church -
0:02:58 > 0:03:00a far cry from her childhood.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I was reared up in a horse-drawn caravan,
0:03:04 > 0:03:09travelling from coast to coast, as you'd say.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I was in Ireland at this time.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Then we came to this country in the '50s.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20I got married, and that was the end of the wagon for me.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I have now what I never had in my life,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and I have to press a button, and I have electric light,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33to press the kettle, and I have water, and toilets.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35We never had that out travelling.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And the best part of it was when the childer was going to school,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and see that they could read and write
0:03:43 > 0:03:46and come back and show me things,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and read... "Oh, Granny, wait till I read this story for you!"
0:03:49 > 0:03:51- And can you read and write? - Oh, I can read now.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- The childer learned me how to read and write.- Really?- Yeah!
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I can pick up a news-... Not good, but I can read a newspaper.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Can you?- Yeah.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06'Unlike the women on Dale Farm, the men refuse to be on camera,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'fearing it will make it hard for them to get work.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13'Mary Anne's closest friend Mimi lives next door.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'They grew up in the old barrel wagons on the roadside.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:20- How important is it to be here? - Very, very important,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23because I'm with all my family here.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26And if we were moved from here, I'd lose my family,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- because we wouldn't all end up together.- Mimi!
0:04:28 > 0:04:31If Sharita's up there, tell her I want her.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33- In our house?- Yeah.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35They're like all sisters and brothers here -
0:04:35 > 0:04:38first cousin, second cousin, sister-in-laws.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41They're all one community here.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44'Mimi is one of the few Travellers here
0:04:44 > 0:04:47'who has actually lived in a house.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Excuse this place, now. It's untidy.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53We spent five years living in one house,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and I think it was about three years living in another one.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00But I couldn't stay there after Nina dying.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03'Mimi's daughter Nina died in a motorbike accident
0:05:03 > 0:05:05'two years ago.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08'She was one of the rare Travellers who'd gone to college
0:05:08 > 0:05:11'and lived a settled life.'
0:05:11 > 0:05:13This was a photocopy,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17but as the time's gone on, you can see she's starting to fade.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- Do you miss her now?- Oh, miss her?
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Honest to God, I could put a rope around my neck and end my life.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29That much. But I can't do it for my family.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34And if I done that, I wouldn't go to heaven. I wouldn't see her.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Because it's our belief, if you do that,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39you won't go to heaven.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43So what I did do for a long time, I scratched myself with a fork.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47I used to rip my legs and... I wanted to feel pain,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50because I thought the pain that was in here...
0:05:50 > 0:05:54I needed to express it through blood.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58But I'm still grieving for her.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Right next door to Dale Farm is the village of Crays Hill.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Some of the gardens back directly onto the site.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13One of them is owned by Len Gridley,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15the Travellers' most outspoken opponent.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Mr Crazy.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24This is Mr Crazy Bear, the fella who does that...
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Grizzly. This is Mr Grizzly's house.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- Where is Mr Gridley's house? - Here.- This is his back garden.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Look through here. You can see it. He lives over there.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37He does nothing but insult us.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41- He said we're gyppos, the whole lot. - I can tell you what he's thinking.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44He's thinking, "Please get rid of all the Travellers."
0:06:44 > 0:06:47I guess we're thinking, "Please get rid of him!"
0:06:47 > 0:06:50THEY LAUGH
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'I've watched this site grow from eight families
0:06:57 > 0:07:00'up to now, they say, between 86 and 90 families.'
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'I've lived in Basildon most of my life,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'40-odd years.'
0:07:07 > 0:07:10They see me as the enemy because I'm standing up to them
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and saying, you know, "You've broken the law."
0:07:13 > 0:07:15"You've devalued my property."
0:07:15 > 0:07:18"I'll fight you through the courts and all through the law."
0:07:18 > 0:07:20When I've spoken to them about it,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24and said, "Well, you've taken £300,000 out of my pocket,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26devaluing my property - I can't sell it -
0:07:26 > 0:07:28I'm going to fight you in every way possible,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and mainly through the court and through the law."
0:07:31 > 0:07:35And I said to them, "If I'd stole 3,000...
0:07:35 > 0:07:37or £300,000 off you, what would you do?"
0:07:37 > 0:07:39"Oh, we'd come and kill you." You know?
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- You've had death threats?- I've had death threats on television,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46death threats in the lane from them, and everything else.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51But, er... I won't let them intimidate me, you know?
0:07:51 > 0:07:54I'll stand my ground. I haven't done anything wrong.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56It's them that have broken the law, not me.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Six years ago, Basildon Council had a meeting
0:08:02 > 0:08:05to decide the fate of the Travellers.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Gypsies and residents were invited to argue their case.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16The village cannot accept this amount of Travellers.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18If nothing gets done,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21I think you're going to have a massive revolt
0:08:21 > 0:08:24from the residents of Crays Hill.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26WOMAN SPEAKS
0:08:29 > 0:08:32All those in favour, please show.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37All those against, please show.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Action has been carried.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45The council voted almost unanimously to evict the Travellers.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Since then, the Gypsies have had five years of appeals.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53WOMAN SHOUTS
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Everyone's frightened of them because they try and intimidate them.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11The rest of them living in the road, another 46 families,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14are fed up with them, say things to me,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17but they wouldn't say anything to a camera or a reporter
0:09:17 > 0:09:20because they would worry about any reprisals
0:09:20 > 0:09:24or any abuse they would get in the road.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30They're scared, frightened, or whatever.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33They know what goes on here. They've seen the TV programmes.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36They've seen them on television, and their behaviour.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Who wants a Gypsy site next to them? No-one.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53MARY ANNE He is a lonely, miserable person.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56That's why he should get himself a woman,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and he'll be all right. SHE LAUGHS
0:10:00 > 0:10:03He has had some threats, though.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06No. We're God-fearing people,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11and we would never hurt or harm nobody in that way.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Might call him a few names and all to that,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17but that's as far as it would ever go.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Even to the childer we say, "When I catch you, you're dead!"
0:10:21 > 0:10:24"I'm going to kill you when you come back."
0:10:24 > 0:10:29And I don't. That's just their way of talking.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38'Definitely they won't let him get away with it.'
0:10:38 > 0:10:41If we are evicted out of here, they will...
0:10:42 > 0:10:44He will get a slap. I'll put it that way to you.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- He will be dropped down the ditch. - SHE LAUGHS
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- What do you mean by a slap? - They'll meet him in the lane,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54some of the lads, pull him out through the window of the car
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and just give him a few knuckledusters here and there
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- and chuck him in the ditch, then walk on.- Really?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Honest to God, Richard, it will happen to him.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09They won't seriously hurt him. Maybe throw something over the back fence
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- and burn him. - SHE LAUGHS
0:11:19 > 0:11:22As the countdown to eviction gathers pace,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26activists from all over the world descend on Dale Farm.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29- Hello, everybody.- Hello.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34You have to feel that you can take matters into your own hands,
0:11:34 > 0:11:39that you're not just driven off with somebody else's whip.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45If Dale Farm goes, we can say goodbye to a lot of other Traveller properties around the country.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51Gratton Puxon is Britain's most high-profile Gypsy activist.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54He's been fighting Gypsy evictions for 50 years.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Thousands of years of travelling
0:11:56 > 0:11:59are behind us coming here today in this tent.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And where are we going? That's what we have to decide.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Because it has to stop here.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09It's set out in the European Convention on Human Rights
0:12:09 > 0:12:13that no person shall be deprived of the right to education.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16That was the voice of Gratton Puxon,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18the itinerants' most controversial friend.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Gratton first befriended the Gypsies in 1962 in Ireland,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24where he helped fight an eviction.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28He then spent two years living on the road with the Travellers.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Was that very different from your upbringing before that?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I suppose so, because I was from divorced parents,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38a small family - a broken home, really.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42And, of course, the other thing that propelled me to Ireland
0:12:42 > 0:12:45was the fact I'd been called up to serve in the British Army.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Being against war, having gone through the war myself,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I burnt my call-up papers and went off to Ireland.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- WOMAN SINGING - For me it was like university.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I learnt a lot from it, you know?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- What did you learn? - Well, I don't know.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04To survive, and to believe in yourself,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06that you could survive on very little
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and with very little material things around you.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Now 72, Gratton is a veteran of dozens of evictions,
0:13:16 > 0:13:21but none of them have been on sites the size of Dale Farm.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26It is the biggest eviction of Travellers in UK history.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31But we're also, perhaps, better prepared than ever before
0:13:31 > 0:13:34to stop it.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36SHOUTING
0:13:37 > 0:13:41They will not only destroy the land and take it from us,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45but will try to take our soul and our faith from us,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48because we do continue to believe in a way of life
0:13:48 > 0:13:51which is different from the settled way of life.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56There's things been said in there that we didn't know nothing about.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- What kind of things? - Things like, we were told in there
0:13:59 > 0:14:02that the council cannot come in in the middle of the night
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and bang on our doors. They can't tow us out into the bad weather.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09They can't tow us out if we've young children running about.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11We didn't know anything about that.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Meetings like this is very important to us,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16because it's teaching us of what to expect,
0:14:16 > 0:14:22and also what we can do and what the council cannot do.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Since 1994, councils no longer have had to provide sites
0:14:27 > 0:14:29for Gypsies and Travellers.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Instead they were encouraged to buy their own land
0:14:32 > 0:14:34and move onto it.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37# Patches on my britches
0:14:37 > 0:14:39# Holes in both my shoes
0:14:39 > 0:14:43# And I hurried off to school...
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Dale Farm has the same population as the nearby village of Crays Hill.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52The village says it can't support such a large influx of people.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57When I first starting filming here six years ago,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00the locals were more willing to speak on camera.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Well, this is a poem by an unnamed Crays Hill resident,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06and it goes, "We got pikeys in our back yard.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08"They're thieving from night to morn."
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"If it ain't nailed down they'll have it away,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Cos that's the way they were born."
0:15:13 > 0:15:15"Council man says they're on their way."
0:15:15 > 0:15:17"They will all be gone in the month of May."
0:15:17 > 0:15:20"I don't know what planet he is on,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22But I do know that they won't be gone."
0:15:22 > 0:15:25"The planning laws, they are a joke."
0:15:25 > 0:15:27"They don't apply to the pikey bloke."
0:15:27 > 0:15:30"They build what they like and they always will,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"And the council are scared and so is Old Bill."
0:15:33 > 0:15:37It's a disgrace for this government and this council to let them get away with it.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The only way to get them off is by force.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42That really is the last option.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44That's the only thing they understand, is force.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- They don't understand anything else. - If it was in France,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51they'd have water cannons in there blowing the hell out of them.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Now, as the eviction draws closer,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56only Len Gridley seems willing to be on camera.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05His main gripe is with the council,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08who he blames for failing to evict the Travellers
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and return the land to green belt.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14The Travellers lost their last appeal in 2009,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18but they're still there, over his back fence.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Today he's invited over the council leader, Tony Ball,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23to try and encourage them to act.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28- They've got all these sites, with their towers...- Yeah.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32..scaffolding towers with barbed wire all over it.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36I see that's gone up recently. That's part of the barricade.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41The rubbish and everything else you have to put up with coming over,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44all the bottles...
0:16:44 > 0:16:46general junk.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50There's more bottles and cans.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- They come over on a regular basis. - Mm-hm.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Don't know what a plastic pipe's doing there.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00But that's why I had to put all this fencing up down this side,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02to stop them coming in.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04- But how high do you go?- Sure.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08You go eight foot high, it looks like you're in a prison.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11We must act on the court decision in my view,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14returning that back to green belt.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I think that the people don't... You do, Len,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- but others don't realise the actual scale.- Yeah.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- We're looking at six weeks to three months.- Absolutely.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26500 people, possibly.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28But if this is not cleared,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32and it does get to a legal argument with the village and the council...
0:17:32 > 0:17:36If I take you to court, my personal cost on this property
0:17:36 > 0:17:38stands at 4.6 million,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40because they've already admitted it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Crays Hill has been revalued.- Yes.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45- And due to the Gypsies.- Yes.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51The Travellers are living on borrowed time,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53but normal life goes on.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Many of the Gypsies on Dale Farm are strict Catholics, and today
0:17:59 > 0:18:02it's Mary Anne's great- granddaughter's First Communion.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- How's the day doing, Mary Anne? - Great so far, thank God.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I'm really pleased and happy that I'm alive to see this day.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Cos I won't be around to see them getting married,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17so I'm going to get drunk today, and I'll rock 'n' roll.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20SONG: "My Girl" by The Temptations
0:18:31 > 0:18:34'It's their Holy Communion, their christening
0:18:34 > 0:18:36'and the day they get married.'
0:18:36 > 0:18:39They are the big days. We really look forward...
0:18:39 > 0:18:41We really celebrate them.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47It's their day today, so we join in later on.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49MUSIC CONTINUES
0:18:51 > 0:18:54They're christened in white cos they're pure.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58They gets their Holy Communion in white because they're still pure,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and they're married in white because they're still pure.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08We don't believe in divorce. We don't believe in abortion.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Our religion is, you find a person that you love and like,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15but you don't sleep with that person until after you're married.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19You don't drink until after you're married. So that's how it is.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21HE CHATTERS
0:19:21 > 0:19:25You can joke and have a laugh about stupid things,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27but still we keep our faith. We keep our religion.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32SONG: "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
0:19:32 > 0:19:36I'm drawing my new face, after my facelift.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40I'm going to get my nose pierced. That's my new face.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Mary Anne's granddaughter, also named Mary Ann,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46has spent most of her life on Dale Farm.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48And I changed my name to Susan.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Why did you change your name, Mary Ann?
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- Because there's too many Mary Anns. - There's a lot on this site.- Yeah.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- I'm fed up of being a Mary Ann now. - You're named after your grandmother.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02We're all related somehow, and all named after my grandmother.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Like many of the kids on Dale Farm,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Mary Ann has grown up under the threat of eviction.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14She was just 12 years old when the council first voted to evict.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I just hope that we don't get evicted.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20If we do, I don't know what we'll do.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I know what we're going to do. We're going to park in Basildon.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27We're not leaving. They might think that we're leaving,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30but they've got another thing coming, cos we're not.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Because there'll be a fight in here.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- We will fight and fight. - We will kill everyone!
0:20:36 > 0:20:39We will... No, we won't! We'll try as hard as we can.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45'Generations of conflict with the settled community
0:20:45 > 0:20:49'have given these Travellers a strong sense of identity.'
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Are they all Travellers, all these people?
0:20:53 > 0:20:57- That crowd of girls is Travellers. - How can you tell?
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Believe me, you can tell.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02They're Travellers.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04What is it about those? Give me an example.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Just the way they dress, really, and where they're in groups.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11You never seen the settled community in groups like that.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Oh, gosh, he's nice!
0:21:13 > 0:21:15- WOMAN LAUGHS - Which one?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18The one with the curly hair!
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- SHE WHISPERS - Call me. 07799...
0:21:21 > 0:21:23THEY LAUGH
0:21:23 > 0:21:25MUSIC / BUZZ OF VOICES
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- What is this place?- Kenilworth Fair.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- What goes on in...- A horse fair.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Nothing really much. Just stalls selling stuff -
0:21:42 > 0:21:45there'll be hair clips, handbags,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47clothes, shoes, jewellery...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- Are they mostly Travellers here, then?- Only Travellers.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I think you're the only settled person.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04PONY WHINNIES
0:22:07 > 0:22:10'When I was their age, I had two ribbons, one either side,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12'and a pair of white socks.'
0:22:12 > 0:22:15You don't see socks or ribbons on children any more.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Now it's all these diamond hairbands and all this Come Dancing clothes
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and diamonds. Naked clothes!
0:22:24 > 0:22:28But it's lovely to see, and it's because they're young,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and I suppose it's how they should be.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- Were you ever in one of those? - No. I was in one,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39but never lived in one. Just in looking.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- What do you think when you see one? - Oh, they're so small!
0:22:42 > 0:22:46How they lived in them was beyond me.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48PONY WHINNIES
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Ahh!
0:22:51 > 0:22:54What will happen if the eviction goes ahead?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- SHE SIGHS - God only knows.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- I don't know what's going to happen. - Will you go back on the road then?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Yeah. But where we're going to go is beyond me.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08We'll be on the road 24/7. We'll have nowhere else to stay.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Family is a big part of Traveller life.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32But it's also important to Len.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36I can't believe how well it's lasted out there today.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- Hi.- It's all right.- Yeah.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Oh, he hit that hole! HE LAUGHS
0:23:43 > 0:23:46He hit that hole.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Are they going to be much longer out there, folks?
0:23:51 > 0:23:54We'll have to push them jet skis down in a minute.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00It's going to get wet now.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- This a typical Sunday afternoon? - Yeah.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08Most of my nieces and nephews and family stay out on the beach
0:24:08 > 0:24:10for the jet ski and the buggy.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13'The whole family go out together, usually,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17'anything from eight of us to 22 of us.'
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Bit like the Travellers. We're all a close family.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22We go out together, do everything together.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'We share everything together.'
0:24:26 > 0:24:30My sister married a Traveller that we'd known all our lives, 40-odd years.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34You know? An English Traveller, brought up in a caravan.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Now she lives in a house with all her children.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40He lives in a house. You know? It's...
0:24:40 > 0:24:44That's how life is now, you know? You've got to change.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50There is a big distinguish between the Romany Travellers
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and these Irish so-called Travellers.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I've got no problem with the Romany Travellers.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Talk to them, have a cup of tea with them,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01meet them quite often in the caff, you know?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Got no problems, you know?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07But these people just want to be called Travellers,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09and they're no Travellers more than I am.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13# Sure, come, my little son
0:25:13 > 0:25:17# And I will tell you what I'll do
0:25:17 > 0:25:20# Undress yourself and get into bed
0:25:20 > 0:25:24# And a tale I'll tell to you #
0:25:35 > 0:25:38As the weeks and months count down for Dale Farm,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41time is up for a smaller site down the road.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57You're not coming in here.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03The council have always linked this site to the one at Dale Farm.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06The Irish Travellers here own the land,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08but it's green belt, so they can't live on it.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12This is my land. You're not supposed to come on this land.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15You cannot come on the land and put us off this land.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This is our property. We paid for this.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21The bailiffs, Constant & Co, specialise in Gypsy evictions.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Stand at the back of the road. Do not budge from this road!
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Pull the handbrake! Pull the handbrake!
0:26:28 > 0:26:31They've been given the contract by the council.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Their job is to remove permanent structures,
0:26:34 > 0:26:39tarmac and dwellings. Constant's have also won the contract
0:26:39 > 0:26:41for the eviction at Dale Farm.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45You shouldn't be stopping me. I am kind of an official person.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Gratton Puxon's my name. I'm well known to the council.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51What I'm trying to do...
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Although they're not letting Gratton through,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57some of his protestors did get on-site.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00They've got to an age when they can't keep being moved on,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and they can't keep living under the stress of eviction.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08- Get out of the way. - Do not touch me! Do not touch me!
0:27:08 > 0:27:10- Stop it! You're hurting me. - Get up, then.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14You're hurting me! Leave me alone! Leave me alone! You're hurting me!
0:27:14 > 0:27:18- Stop it!- Are the police here?
0:27:18 > 0:27:21She's an old lady! Get off of her!
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Let go! Don't put your hands on me, mate.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26THEY SHOUT AND ARGUE
0:27:29 > 0:27:31How's it looking now?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Because of... In what way?
0:27:54 > 0:27:58The Travellers here are less inclined to put up a fight
0:27:58 > 0:28:00than some of the activists.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03They decide to pack up and leave of their own accord.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17The police's role in an eviction is to keep the peace.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22But the Travellers see them as being on the same side as the bailiffs.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26You're wanting an escort, because it's dangerous getting out
0:28:26 > 0:28:30onto the 127. That's what I was told. You'll go out together.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35- You just be quiet.- Yeah, OK.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39We don't want to be followed down the road and moved on and on.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42I'm not interested in that. Form yourself up.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44It will take probably about ten minutes
0:28:44 > 0:28:47for the traffic guys to slow down... HE REPLIES OFF-MIC
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Then I'll give you the shout that it's clear,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and you can drive off, and off you go.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57- I'm very interested in that at the moment.- All right. OK.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00So that's the way that we're going to do it.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02We'll give you a thumbs-up. Off you go,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06then they will allow the rest of the traffic...
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Gratton, you're a pacifist, you're an activist.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Is it, like, important for you to have a cause?
0:29:14 > 0:29:18I suppose it is, yeah. I suppose it gives me a reason to live.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25I believe in direct action,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28to the level of force that's needed to stop something
0:29:28 > 0:29:32which I feel is an injustice, but I'm against warfare.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38- So you believe in direct action... - Yeah.- ..in terms of Dale Farm,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41- trying to stop the eviction. - If there's no other way,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45and they confront us with ...destruction of our homes,
0:29:45 > 0:29:47and destroying the children's lives.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50This is the law gone mad,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and this is a law that has to be stood up to.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02The Hovefield Travellers have gone back on the road,
0:30:02 > 0:30:04back to the life they knew before they settled.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17Even though Hovefields is seen by many as a test run for Dale Farm,
0:30:17 > 0:30:19the two sites are very different.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25There's only about five or six families down there.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Look at how many families is here, Richard.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34And who was in Hovefield? A couple of elderly people,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38at the end of the day. Look at the youths that's here,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and the power that's here!
0:30:41 > 0:30:45There's not a person out there that won't fight for their rights.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48I mean to say, at the end of the day, it is our ground.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51We own Dale Farm.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54If that...Constant & Co bailiffs come in here,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57they're not coming in and getting an easy fight,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00I can tell you that. This'll be the roughest...
0:31:00 > 0:31:03They'll never do another eviction again after this one,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07if it do take place, and that I can promise you.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Since 2005,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18the Travellers here have been preparing for a fight.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Dale Farm is 20 times larger than Hovefields,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27and the Gypsies here have a very different attitude towards eviction.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47CONGREGATION SINGING HYMN
0:31:47 > 0:31:51- # As it is in heaven - # As it is in heaven
0:31:51 > 0:31:55- # Give us this day - # Give us this day
0:31:55 > 0:31:57- # Our daily bread - # Our daily bread... #
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Will your religion help you if there's an eviction here?
0:32:01 > 0:32:07Yes. If the government and Basildon council frowns on us,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10almighty God will shine on us, so I believe in Him.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Who's the highest?
0:32:12 > 0:32:15The almighty God. He will help us and look after us.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- Even if you're back on the road? - Yes.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22- He'll still be there?- He'll always be there to mind and protect us,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24and show us the right road to go.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- Have you ever felt that He has forsaken you?- No.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Oh, God, no. He would never do that.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32No.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37God does, um, mysterious things.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59'Traditional Gypsy caravans.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02'They got very old English families here.'
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Four days after the eviction at Hovefields,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Len Gridley is wondering what it will mean for the Travellers
0:33:11 > 0:33:14at the end of his garden.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18There's been an eviction now. Hopefully they've made an example of them,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21and hopefully we will see, in the next month or so,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25a 28-day order issued on Dale Farm to clear the site
0:33:25 > 0:33:29before this Christmas. They've got to do it very quickly,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32otherwise it's going to be the winter time.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38Over the past ten years, Len has meticulously documented
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Dale Farm's expansion from eight to 80 families.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46This is the fourth helicopter he's rented,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48costing £500 a time.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52He's spent tens of thousands of pounds of his own money
0:33:52 > 0:33:55fighting the Travellers.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Then circle our way back up the 130. RISING WHINE OF ENGINES
0:34:02 > 0:34:06'Even the residents' association and the parish council,
0:34:06 > 0:34:09'it's all sort of hide away, you know?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11'All say things and do things,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15'have meetings and everything, but the meetings get nowhere
0:34:15 > 0:34:18'because they won't speak out.'
0:34:59 > 0:35:01This is a good one for you.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07It's all been cleared. All the way up the road, been cleared,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10along the back here and all along here.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13So how do you feel, seeing that it's been...
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Well, they've taken some action and cleared the site
0:35:16 > 0:35:19and got rid of the Gypsies,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22but this is not turning it back to greenfield sites, you know?
0:35:22 > 0:35:25This is...a rubbish tip.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29You know? It looks a bombsite.
0:35:39 > 0:35:44If we're moved out of here, Richard, I will go home to Ireland.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46I'll go back home.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48How do you see your future now?
0:35:48 > 0:35:52How do I see my future? Richard, no-one predicts the future.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56We just take every day as they come,
0:35:56 > 0:36:00and thank God that we're allowed to see it.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Mimi's daughter Nina died two days ago today.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11She's buried in a cemetery near the house they lived in
0:36:11 > 0:36:13while Nina was studying nursing.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19But Mimi wasn't her birth mother.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22She informally adopted Nina from a fellow Irish Traveller.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27- You said to her birth mother... You asked if you could take her?- Yeah.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31- She gave her to me.- Because...
0:36:32 > 0:36:35She'd other children, Richard, and...
0:36:35 > 0:36:37she'd an alcoholic of a husband.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43I love you, my angel.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45'I took her when she was seven months old.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48'I raised her up as my own child.'
0:36:49 > 0:36:52I got her her First Holy Communion when she was five.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00I always thought in my old age I'd have her to look after me.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04I really never worried about getting old.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07And do you worry now?
0:37:07 > 0:37:10I don't worry, Richard. I'm not...
0:37:10 > 0:37:13really bothered, Richard, whether I live or die.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16- Really?- To tell you the truth.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21- You have your family on Dale Farm. - I have, Richard.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26But when she was alive, she was everything I had.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30I didn't look into my family or anyone else. She was my family.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34She was my life story.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Go. Quick!
0:37:47 > 0:37:50All the flowers is gone off of it.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00The woman that killed her took the wrong turn.
0:38:00 > 0:38:06Then she swerved to go back, and my girl hit the side of her car,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and flew across and hit this pole.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14I promised her I'd never cry no more, Richard,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17but when I comes here... I can go to the cemetery.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Yeah, it breaks my heart going there,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23but, you know, when I comes here...
0:38:24 > 0:38:27..this is really stabbing, like a stab in the heart, Richard.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Oh, God, Richard, this is the last place she was.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36This is the last sight she got of anything.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Oh, I've got to get out of here. I'll stab myself with the scissors.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Come on.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55You all right?
0:38:55 > 0:38:57SHE SOBS
0:39:02 > 0:39:06# It's snowing out there in the gloaming
0:39:07 > 0:39:11# I've sat here all night, watched it snow
0:39:12 > 0:39:17# The kids will be thrilled when they're waking
0:39:17 > 0:39:22# And look at the fields deep and white
0:39:22 > 0:39:26# But the snow makes me think of my Nina
0:39:27 > 0:39:31# She's lying there deep in the snow... #
0:39:31 > 0:39:35- I can't. - Ah, that was lovely, Mimi.- I can't.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38It's Saturday night in Mary Anne's chalet,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and she's surrounded by family and friends.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43The May deadline is around the corner,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46but the Travellers are defiant.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49We're facing a massive eviction, Richard.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53My heart is breaking, but nobody knows. That's one thing about me -
0:39:53 > 0:39:56I have a good sense of humour, and without that I'd be dead
0:39:56 > 0:39:58long before now.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03No, that's not the boogey man. That's the bailiffs coming in.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05THEY LAUGH
0:40:05 > 0:40:10- That's Constant & Co.- Constant & Co, as they're knocking at the door.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Give us ten minutes to go!
0:40:12 > 0:40:16- What are you feeling about an eviction now?- I'm so excited!
0:40:16 > 0:40:19THEY LAUGH
0:40:22 > 0:40:26When the time comes we'll be crying. There'll be tears down like that.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28But we'll be ready.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Come on, baby, come on, baby. Come on, baby, let's have you!
0:40:31 > 0:40:33THEY LAUGH
0:40:33 > 0:40:35# Constant & Co, Constant & Co
0:40:35 > 0:40:38# You're gonna be dead, you are, yeah, yeah
0:40:38 > 0:40:40# Constant & Co... #
0:40:40 > 0:40:43HAPPY CHATTERING AND LAUGHTER
0:40:52 > 0:40:54It's March 2011,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57and Basildon Council have called a crucial meeting
0:40:57 > 0:41:01to vote on whether to spend the staggering £8 million now needed
0:41:01 > 0:41:04for the eviction.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07This would be a third of the council's total annual budget.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Fearing trouble, the riot police have been called in.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15- CHANTING - It's a waste of money, Richard,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18because we're going to end up in this car park
0:41:18 > 0:41:20and every other car park in Basildon.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24- We'll end up in this car park here for a week.- You reckon?
0:41:24 > 0:41:26I don't reckon. I know 100 percent.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31- Save our home!- We can't just vanish off the face of the Earth.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34We're human beings like everyone else.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37We just want what everybody else wants -
0:41:37 > 0:41:39a quiet, peaceful life.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46There's one notable absence, though.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Len Gridley has decided to stay at home,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53to avoid further antagonism.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58£8 million! It's crazy to actually go ahead with that.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01The risks are so tremendous.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04The eyes of the world are going to be on Basildon,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07and the administration should be ashamed of themselves.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Why was it right to take the action at Hovefields and clear the sites
0:42:14 > 0:42:16and yet not at Dale Farm?
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Wrong is wrong, and there cannot be one rule for one
0:42:20 > 0:42:22and another rule for another.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Can I see all those in favour, please? Show, please.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33CHEERING / APPLAUSE
0:42:35 > 0:42:38All those against.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41CHEERING / APPLAUSE
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Thank you. The vote is carried, and good night to everyone.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56The council have approved the additional funds for the eviction.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00All that's left is to give them their 28-day notice
0:43:00 > 0:43:02to get off Dale Farm.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10We'd no chance in there, Richard. We'd no chance whatsoever.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13The group on our side really spoke...
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I don't have to tell him. He already knows about that.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23And what about the other stuff? Let 'em come in, Richie.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25- Let 'em bring the bailiffs in. - Gas bottles, yeah?
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And we've other means as well. But let them bring in the bailiffs!
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Everyone is going to be there for the eviction,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35and they're not going to go easy.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39We're staying - right down to the very last one.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43- Really?- Richie, you know us. How many times have you been down there?
0:43:43 > 0:43:46You knows the score of what's going on down there, Richie.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50They think we're just going back into our trailers and go?
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Trust me, Richie - Basildon'll go up in fire...
0:43:54 > 0:43:56..before we go.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59# Patches on my britches
0:43:59 > 0:44:01# Holes in both my shoes
0:44:01 > 0:44:04# And I hurried off to school
0:44:04 > 0:44:07# Just to find the others laughing
0:44:07 > 0:44:10# And making fun of me
0:44:10 > 0:44:13# In my coat of many colours
0:44:13 > 0:44:16# That my mamma made for me
0:44:16 > 0:44:18# Coat of many colours
0:44:18 > 0:44:22# That my mamma made for me #
0:44:22 > 0:44:26Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:44:26 > 0:44:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk
0:44:30 > 0:44:30.