:00:05. > :00:15.Tony Ball THIS PROGRAMME CONTAINS SCENES OF REPETITIVE FLASHING
:00:15. > :00:22.
:00:22. > :00:28.150 riot police, 200 bailiffs. �18 million. The biggest eviction
:00:28. > :00:31.in modern British history. It was over a breach in planning
:00:31. > :00:36.law. I've followed this story for six
:00:36. > :00:42.years, talking to travellers... We're going to be dragged from the
:00:42. > :00:46.homes like dogs. To residents... I will persecute
:00:46. > :00:52.them like they will persecute me. And to the council... I've had
:00:52. > :00:57.unpleasant letters of e-mails, one addressed to the Group Fuhrer, or
:00:57. > :01:02.leader of the fourth Reich. Now the time for talking is over
:01:02. > :01:08.and 400 gypsies who have made this their home are about to be evicted.
:01:08. > :01:13.They are taking me out in a body bag! Get back now! They came in
:01:13. > :01:19.force and almost dominated life in our village at one time.
:01:20. > :01:23.Get back! I'm too old to be doing this.
:01:24. > :01:33.Hugger off! It's like the Second World War down there! Honest to God,
:01:34. > :01:50.
:01:50. > :01:55.I have never seen the likes of it Dale Farm. 1,000 Irish travellers,
:01:55. > :02:00.Europe's biggest unlawful encampment, right in the heart of
:02:00. > :02:07.Essex. Ten years ago, Irish travellers
:02:07. > :02:11.bought a scrapyard, but then they put up chalets, caravans and
:02:11. > :02:15.settled down, but the land was green belt, they were in breach of
:02:15. > :02:19.planning law. League battles raged for ten years, from the Court of
:02:19. > :02:22.Appeal to the court of human rights in Strasbourg.
:02:22. > :02:27.It became an issue at the highest level.
:02:27. > :02:31.Will the Prime Minister join me in sending a clear message to the
:02:31. > :02:37.travellers at the illegal Dale Farm site? It is an illegal development,
:02:37. > :02:42.so those people should move away. By the beginning of the year, the
:02:42. > :02:48.travellers had lost every days. In May, Basildon Council met to
:02:48. > :02:51.make a final decision on Dale Farm. The council leader had threatened
:02:51. > :02:55.to resign if the eviction did not happen.
:02:55. > :02:58.It is wrong, there cannot be one rule for one and another rule for
:02:58. > :03:05.another. APPLAUSE
:03:05. > :03:15.Can I see all of those in favour? Will you please show, please.
:03:15. > :03:18.
:03:18. > :03:24.All those against? APPLAUSE The vote is carried.
:03:24. > :03:29.They think they were going to back into the trailers and go.
:03:29. > :03:34.Basildon will go up in fire before we go.
:03:34. > :03:38.In July, the council tried to serve eviction notices on the 81 families
:03:38. > :03:41.on Dale Farm, but the travellers resisted.
:03:41. > :03:51.The tone was set for what was going to come.
:03:51. > :04:02.
:04:02. > :04:07.. It's a no-go area! It's a fight! It's August on Dale Farm. The
:04:07. > :04:13.council have served due notice. The travellers now have 28 days to
:04:13. > :04:18.move off or they will face an I viduction.
:04:18. > :04:27.-- an eviction. 400 Irish travellers have lived
:04:27. > :04:31.here for ten years. For them, a semi-settled life means
:04:31. > :04:41.access to schools, healthcare and a local church. It's a respite from
:04:41. > :04:47.
:04:47. > :04:52.REPORTER: How important is it to be here? Very, important. I'm with all
:04:52. > :04:57.of my family here. If we were moved from here I would lose my family
:04:57. > :05:04.because we wouldn't all end up together.
:05:04. > :05:13.Serena is up in the caravan. They are like sisters and brothers
:05:13. > :05:18.here, first cousin, second cousins,. They are a community here.
:05:18. > :05:22.Miami moved in 2005 to be close to her family after her daughter was
:05:22. > :05:28.killed in a road accident. This is a photocopy. As the time
:05:28. > :05:34.has gone on, you can see she is starting to fade.
:05:34. > :05:41.REPORTER: Do you miss her? Miss her?! Honest to God, I could put a
:05:41. > :05:51.rope around my neck and end my life. If I don't die, I would not go to
:05:51. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:59.heaven, I would not see her. I am still breathing for her.
:05:59. > :06:06.Her best friends, the McCarthy family live three doors away.
:06:06. > :06:14.Marie, Margaret and Pearl. Mary Anne, their mother, also lives
:06:14. > :06:18.on the site. I was reared up on a horse-drawn
:06:18. > :06:24.caravan, travelling from coast-to- coast, as you would say. I was in
:06:24. > :06:31.Ireland at this time. Then we came to this country in the 50s.
:06:31. > :06:36.I got married and that was the end of the wagon for me.
:06:36. > :06:41.I have now what I never had in my life. That is to press a button and
:06:41. > :06:46.I have electric light. To press the kettle and I have water. I have
:06:47. > :06:51.toilets. We never had that travelling.
:06:51. > :06:57.The best part of it was that when the children were going to school,
:06:57. > :07:03.to see that they could read and write, come back and show me things.
:07:04. > :07:08.Asking to read stories for me. was lovely here when we arrived. We
:07:08. > :07:12.settled down. All of the families were around you. Our own home.
:07:12. > :07:16.Everything. It was lovely. The future was ahead of you. This was a
:07:16. > :07:20.part of your life. While the McCarthy girls have been
:07:20. > :07:29.happy to be on camera, the men prefer not to, fearing it will
:07:29. > :07:33.affect their ability to get work. Dale Farm is right next door to the
:07:33. > :07:37.village of Crays Hill. There are now almost as many
:07:37. > :07:41.travellers as there are villagers. Some of the properties back
:07:41. > :07:46.directly on to the site. One of them is owned by the travellers
:07:46. > :07:50.most outspoken opponent. Len Gridley is one of the few local
:07:50. > :07:56.residents prepared to go on camera and speak against the travellers.
:07:56. > :08:00.He claims he has paid a high price. They see me as the enemy as I'm
:08:00. > :08:04.standing up to them saying that they have broken the law, devalued
:08:04. > :08:09.my property. I will fight you through the courts and the law.
:08:09. > :08:13.When I have spoken to them about it, I have told them they have taken
:08:13. > :08:18.�300,000 out of my pocket, devaluing the property, I cannot
:08:18. > :08:21.sell it, I will fight them every way possible. I have had threats on
:08:21. > :08:26.national television. Debt threats in the lane from them, everything
:08:26. > :08:30.else, but I will not let them intimidate me. I will stand my
:08:30. > :08:34.ground. I have not done anything wrong. It's them that have broken
:08:34. > :08:38.the law. Not me. Dave McPherson, a former parish
:08:38. > :08:44.councillor, he has lived in the village for 30 years. He feels that
:08:44. > :08:48.Dale Farm has used up the local resources at the expense of the
:08:48. > :08:52.villagers. We had a lot of problems from the
:08:52. > :08:56.start. A lot of antisocial behaviour. We are a ved spread out
:08:56. > :09:03.community. They came in force and almost dominated life in our
:09:03. > :09:08.village at one time. This is, effectively, a village in
:09:08. > :09:11.its own right. They have not attempted to integrate or
:09:11. > :09:16.communicate with the rest of the village that is spread out over
:09:16. > :09:22.there. I wouldn't be able to, effectively,
:09:22. > :09:28.build a house in this field here because I'm in the allowed to do so,
:09:28. > :09:34.but, for whatever reason, travellers feel that they should be
:09:34. > :09:41.given special privileges in buying a piece of land and effectively
:09:41. > :09:44.developing it and living on it. Since 1994, councils no longer have
:09:44. > :09:48.to provide sites for gypsies and travellers.
:09:48. > :09:55.Instead, they were encouraged to buy their own land and move on to
:09:55. > :10:01.Travellers have lived at Dale Farm for 20 years.
:10:01. > :10:10.Half of the site was licensed in the 1990s. These travellers are
:10:10. > :10:14.allowed to stay... The other half moved on in 2001, without licence.
:10:15. > :10:18.These 400 people now face being evicted.
:10:18. > :10:27.With the eviction looming, supporters from all over the world
:10:27. > :10:31.have flocked to Dale Farm. Climate protesters, anti-road
:10:31. > :10:36.campaigners and environmental activists.
:10:36. > :10:43.They've built barriers, towers and look-out posts. They now live
:10:43. > :10:48.alongside the gypsies. Look up at there, with them
:10:48. > :10:53.sleeping! REPORTER: What's going on there?
:10:53. > :10:57.Those are the supporters, Richard. At the minute we have them all over
:10:57. > :11:01.the place. We have them in the trees. We have them on the
:11:01. > :11:10.scaffolding, they are from all over the world.
:11:10. > :11:20.Campaigners, protesters. Some of them are peaceful. Some of them are
:11:20. > :11:21.
:11:21. > :11:26.more of a "let's get out and do it, gang". What is that? Well, if the
:11:27. > :11:31.bailiff wants a fight, we have fight! Gratton Puxon has been
:11:31. > :11:36.fighting gypsy evictions for 50 years. It began back in Ireland in
:11:36. > :11:43.the 60s, when he took up the cause of the travel ners a bitter dispute
:11:43. > :11:47.over a site called Cherry Orchard. These families were to be evicted.
:11:47. > :11:51.I found that there were 200 people, also under threat of eviction. It
:11:52. > :11:56.is from among the 200 people that this movement has really sprung.
:11:56. > :12:01.Some of those original travellers are related to the ones on Dale
:12:01. > :12:05.Farm. Dan Flynn here, his great uncle was
:12:05. > :12:09.at Cherie. Mickey O'Brien, these are the grandchildren that made the
:12:09. > :12:13.stand at Cherie, now they are making a stand on their own land,
:12:13. > :12:16.that they feel they own. They will not give it up. They are very
:12:16. > :12:25.determined now. REPORTER: Is that part of it for
:12:25. > :12:28.you? It is. It is amazing. A full circle in the 50 years of the civil
:12:28. > :12:34.rights movement, with the travellers, it is impressive. I
:12:34. > :12:38.believe that we can do the job. But Dale Farm has more famous
:12:38. > :12:43.support. Vanessa Redgrave has campaigned for gypsies and
:12:43. > :12:44.travellers for many years. They are hoping that her visit will raise
:12:44. > :12:52.awareness for the forthcoming eviction.
:12:52. > :12:56.It is a freedom for a really warm, strong and good community.
:12:56. > :13:01.So why Vanessa Redgrave and all of the others should get involved in
:13:01. > :13:06.it, I do not know. She is coming today, he is will get
:13:06. > :13:10.her answer from me. In a couple of words. She has heard the gypsy
:13:10. > :13:16.curse, but I'm cursing her. She should not interfere with something
:13:16. > :13:20.that she has nothing to do with. REPORTER: You feel that way? I do.
:13:20. > :13:23.The same with the protesters, I hope that they get run over
:13:23. > :13:29.tomorrow. But in the village, there are
:13:29. > :13:34.serious worries about the influx of activists. A delegation has gone to
:13:34. > :13:39.see the council leader, Tony Ball. REPORTER: So, what the residents
:13:39. > :13:43.are concerned about is that we are going to get pockets of protesters
:13:43. > :13:46.roaming the village. They are concerned that there will not be
:13:46. > :13:53.enough police, support and coverage? This is a police matter.
:13:53. > :13:59.I am aware that they are very concerned at the interference of
:14:00. > :14:03.outsiders. They don't know or have the travellers' interests at heart.
:14:03. > :14:09.They could be damaging the travellers' case, they are their
:14:09. > :14:12.for their own motives, some, not all, but some with intent upon
:14:12. > :14:18.violence. They must be condemned. The police will deal with them, but
:14:18. > :14:28.it is more the distraction. It's an issue that we could do without. It
:14:28. > :14:30.
:14:30. > :14:34.Morning everybody. I am here to speak on behalf of the travellers
:14:34. > :14:37.and our supporters. There's been rumours going around that they've
:14:37. > :14:40.come in and took over our camp and that's not the real story. I want
:14:40. > :14:48.to get the real story out. We invited these people here and
:14:48. > :14:54.they're showing us great respect and great support. News just in.
:14:54. > :14:59.had news in that the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial
:14:59. > :15:04.Discrimination has called for a complete stop to the eviction.
:15:04. > :15:08.APPLAUSE AND CHEERING. I have great respect for the United Nations as
:15:08. > :15:14.an organisation. I'm very disappointed with this committee,
:15:14. > :15:19.which is connected to the United Nations. It's a committee against
:15:19. > :15:22.racism or something like that. They've never contacted me or the
:15:23. > :15:28.council, to my knowledge. What they should be doing, in my view, is
:15:28. > :15:33.looking at countries where ethnic cleansing and racism is rife,
:15:33. > :15:39.rather than looking at England. I've had some very unphres letters
:15:39. > :15:42.and -- unpleasant letters and e- mails from travellers actually, but
:15:42. > :15:48.from non-travelling people accusing me of ethnic cleansing and I think
:15:48. > :15:53.one was addressed to Group Fuhrer, born leader of the Fourth Reich.
:15:53. > :15:59.The council have offered the travellers permanent housing but
:15:59. > :16:07.they refused, saying they don't want to live in bricks and mortar.
:16:07. > :16:11.With no other site on offer, their eviction is costing a a - �18
:16:11. > :16:15.million. �10million for the Police Bill. The scale is so vast that
:16:15. > :16:19.Basildon Council have set up their own control centre right next to
:16:19. > :16:28.Dale Farm. This will be the base for 200 bailiffs and the heavy
:16:28. > :16:31.machinery needed. The bailiff company Constant and Co are
:16:31. > :16:36.stepping up their operations. For the travellers, the message is all
:16:36. > :16:42.too clear. It must be a sight to see that many.
:16:42. > :16:50.Look at the stance, look. And for Mayme it's a sharp reminder of a
:16:50. > :16:53.previous eviction. What it like to suddenly see all this stuff, all
:16:53. > :16:56.this apparatus? It's nervous, Richard, because we have been
:16:56. > :17:00.through it, we know what's going to happen. We are going to be dragged
:17:00. > :17:04.out of our homes like dogs. Because you have been to evictions before?
:17:04. > :17:10.Yeah, bother ham wood - - Borehamwood. This is going to be
:17:10. > :17:20.bigger. This is going to be a very rough eviction, Richard, honest to
:17:20. > :17:30.God, it is. This is not yours. These are ours. You understand? Get
:17:30. > :17:31.
:17:31. > :17:37.Six years ago, Mayme and her family were evicted from a site in
:17:37. > :17:40.Borehamwood in Hertfordshire. They owned the land, but like Dale Farm,
:17:40. > :17:50.it's green belt and they didn't have planning permission to live on
:17:50. > :17:52.
:17:52. > :18:00.Look at the security written on their backs. We know all them faces
:18:00. > :18:08.from Borehamwood. From the last eviction? That's Constant and Co.
:18:08. > :18:17.They're not staoup, all they do is take off them orange jackets for
:18:17. > :18:22.the eviction and put on the other ones. It's Pearl's granddaughter's
:18:22. > :18:32.first birthday. Family celebrations are a big part
:18:32. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:55.We are hoping that it won't be our last get-together but at the moment
:18:55. > :18:58.it seems - it's looking that way but we hope it don't because these
:18:58. > :19:02.celebrations is very important to us. We are a very close community
:19:02. > :19:06.and when it comes to parties, birthday parties, christenings,
:19:06. > :19:16.weddings, we like to gather together and celebrate it. It would
:19:16. > :19:22.
:19:22. > :19:29.Cracks are beginning to appear. Some of the travellers have decided
:19:29. > :19:32.to move their chalets off the site. Are some people wanting to leave or
:19:33. > :19:38.starting to leave? Some people, what they're doing is taking their
:19:38. > :19:42.big chalets, you know the big chalets, that the bulldozeners is
:19:42. > :19:45.going to come in and break to the ground, well they're selling them
:19:45. > :19:52.and putting a small trailer instead, so when the bailiffs come in and
:19:52. > :19:56.they get them out they have to move them alongside the road, Richard.
:19:56. > :20:01.Every chalet here have memories, memories of the babies, when they
:20:01. > :20:07.were born, coming out, setting up prams and cots. The girls getting
:20:07. > :20:11.married. Children's christenings. Every yard here have memories in it.
:20:11. > :20:18.They're bad memories, good memories, people that have died in the yard.
:20:18. > :20:23.That's what I am saying, we won't see our children any more. It's
:20:23. > :20:33.breaking my heart, I am crying for days. It's heartbreaking. Because
:20:33. > :20:39.everyone is going to be separated. It's like the end of the world,
:20:39. > :20:43.Maudie, that's what it feels like. Everybody is feeling it, we are
:20:43. > :20:48.getting angry with each other. That's exactly the way we are. We
:20:48. > :20:58.are getting angry with each other. I am too old to be doing this.
:20:58. > :21:03.stressing us out to see you moving. But some of the travellers have
:21:03. > :21:07.given up the fight and are taking their caravans and leaving Dale
:21:07. > :21:12.Farm. Mayme's 14-year-old great-niece is
:21:12. > :21:17.sorting through the chalet where she grew up. You're not going to
:21:17. > :21:21.fit them into a caravan. You are not going to fit any of these into
:21:21. > :21:24.a big caravan. We have to leave our whole life behind us and start from
:21:24. > :21:31.scratch. We are not going to fit any of this stuff in. It's really -
:21:31. > :21:38.I can't, I don't know, it's kind of like a stinging bee flying around
:21:38. > :21:45.my heart and stinging in the middle. Look at that now, it's not the same
:21:45. > :21:55.I grew up in, because there's all these kind of signs and barricades
:21:55. > :22:02.and bailiffs, police. Activists are blocking up the gate
:22:02. > :22:09.at the end of Len Gridley's garden. They're worried he will let the
:22:09. > :22:15.bailiffs use it to get on to the site. And to aggravate him further,
:22:15. > :22:21.they put up a tarpaulin to block his view.
:22:21. > :22:31.Len decides to strike back. I am smelling it now and it clearly
:22:31. > :22:32.
:22:32. > :22:42.isn't pleasant. He runs raw sewage down to the gate. Then he tries to
:22:42. > :22:45.set light to the tarpaulin. They carry on building, I will
:22:45. > :22:49.carry on setting fire. If you want to go around the other side and
:22:49. > :22:55.tell them to stop, I will stop. police stand by and watch until Len
:22:55. > :22:59.gets out a shotgun and they're forced to act. I have asked you to
:22:59. > :23:03.stop filming now. He's detained for a couple of hours,
:23:03. > :23:09.then released on bail without charge.
:23:09. > :23:13.I was shocked. I couldn't believe that - I I always thought he was a
:23:13. > :23:17.harmless man, I didn't think he was violent. He always used to give us
:23:17. > :23:21.threats but we always - until he came out with a gun yesterday we
:23:21. > :23:27.realised this man was dangerous. They took all my firearms away from
:23:27. > :23:33.me and my brother's air air rifles and replica guns that weren't mine.
:23:33. > :23:37.They took everything away and gave me no no protection at all knocks
:23:37. > :23:43.police. Now I have to somehow protect myself. How are you going
:23:43. > :23:47.to do it? I was considering getting a tank and doing it. Put a tank at
:23:47. > :23:52.the bottom of the garden and be armed myself. An advanced party of
:23:52. > :24:01.bailiffs are probing for for weakness. Have you not got a better
:24:01. > :24:06.job? Bunch of losers. They're looking for an alternative way in,
:24:06. > :24:11.avoiding the main gate. You are not wanted around here!
:24:11. > :24:14.Tensions are rising on both sides of the fence. With fears of the
:24:14. > :24:20.eviction turning violent, the travellers' local Catholic priest
:24:20. > :24:24.has come down to say mass. Behold, Jesus, the lamb of God, who
:24:24. > :24:34.takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those called to his
:24:34. > :24:37.
:24:37. > :24:42.supper. Body of Christ. The blessing of Christ.
:24:42. > :24:49.Don't know whether you have heard of a man called Mahatma Gandhi.
:24:49. > :24:54.Gandhi was an Indian, lived in India at a time when India wasn't
:24:54. > :24:57.independent, when it was under British rule. Gandhi pioneered non-
:24:57. > :25:02.violent resistance and he emphasised throughout his life that
:25:02. > :25:07.he was never going to do anything that was violent. In fact, he said
:25:07. > :25:17.this: I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the
:25:17. > :25:20.
:25:20. > :25:26.good is only temporary. The evil it Facing being forced on the road
:25:26. > :25:32.again, Mayme's sorting out precious memories. It's three years since
:25:32. > :25:39.her daughter died and she's still got all of her possessions. They
:25:39. > :25:45.say sometimes you got to let go and let life go on. But that's easier
:25:45. > :25:50.said than done. A lot easier said than done. Has it not got any
:25:50. > :25:56.easier in the three years since she passed away? No, Richard, no. I
:25:56. > :26:05.suppose it would if I let go, Richard. Can you not let go? I am
:26:05. > :26:11.one of these people that can't let The McCarthy sisters are worried
:26:11. > :26:17.about the stress of eviction on their mother. We are getting our
:26:17. > :26:21.mum out of here now now, because it's gone from everything else.
:26:21. > :26:25.She's moving out because we are expecting the bailiffs in soon.
:26:25. > :26:35.did you decide to move her out? She's too old. She's over 70 years
:26:35. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:43.of age and it's too stressful, Then a surprise visit. Ray Boxing
:26:43. > :26:48.shows up, he was the one who sold the land to the travellers. It
:26:48. > :26:51.turns out for the previous 30 years it had been run as a scrapyard.
:26:51. > :26:58.you can see from that, it was full up with cars. Look, look at them
:26:58. > :27:02.all, you know. All over, and this bit here with cars. There was cars
:27:02. > :27:06.everywhere. Listen, this is forever been, as far as we are concerned,
:27:06. > :27:09.this is brown belt land. The council is trying to pull the wool
:27:09. > :27:13.over the media's eyes and everyone's eyes. Let the whole
:27:13. > :27:18.world come in here and see, see those maps and listen to this man
:27:18. > :27:28.speak. The council opened this up as a scrapyard. They get this man,
:27:28. > :27:33.they asked this man's permission, did they or did they not? Oh, yeah.
:27:33. > :27:38.Part of Dale Farm was an authorised scrapyard. The council used it as a
:27:38. > :27:48.dumping ground for abandoned cars. When the travellers moved in, they
:27:48. > :27:50.
:27:50. > :27:54.cleaned it up and paid for the wrecks to be removed. Tony, can you
:27:54. > :28:00.see from the travellers' perspective, when they moved on in
:28:00. > :28:06.2001, although it was and is a green belt, the site, it looked and
:28:06. > :28:13.felt very much like a brokers' yard? No, I don't accept that at
:28:13. > :28:16.all. There's been a lot of talk about human rights, but with rights
:28:16. > :28:21.comes responsibilities and it's everyone's responsibility to check
:28:21. > :28:26.the status of land and to apply for the permissions or check they have
:28:26. > :28:36.the permission to use that land within the law. The travellers did
:28:36. > :28:38.
:28:38. > :28:42.not do that. Gratton and the travellers are awaiting the final
:28:42. > :28:46.word from the High Court. They've asked for an emergency injunction
:28:46. > :28:56.on the basis that the old and the infirm are at risk. This is their
:28:56. > :28:59.
:28:59. > :29:05.last hope for a peaceful solution. Now, what this really is, now. The
:29:05. > :29:11.application was refused today, but we can re-apply on Monday. We are
:29:11. > :29:16.allowed to get a second chance to go to the judge on Monday. OK?
:29:16. > :29:21.REPORTER: What was the reason? don't know. They turned us down for
:29:21. > :29:24.a hearing today, an application, but it can go back on Monday.
:29:24. > :29:27.is no good, they are coming in on Monday.
:29:27. > :29:31.We have to stop them. We have to fight for time now.
:29:31. > :29:35.So, the eviction is on of the the travellers and activists will have
:29:35. > :29:44.to strengthen defences and try to hold off the bailiffs until they
:29:44. > :29:48.can get back to the High Court for another potential injunction.
:29:48. > :29:51.Our families bought this place and came into it good and proper and
:29:51. > :30:01.took up the contamination and cleaned it and made it presentable
:30:01. > :30:01.
:30:01. > :30:11.to live to make homes here. And now we're being put out of it. We can
:30:11. > :30:12.
:30:12. > :30:22.fight. It's like it is nobodys, it's like
:30:22. > :30:25.
:30:25. > :30:30.it is a piece of flesh, but not know to whose souls. Do you know
:30:30. > :30:38.what, we should have vandalised Basildon, everywhere we went and we
:30:38. > :30:42.would have got staying here, but we were too soft, too quiet, too good!
:30:42. > :30:50.We are getting nobody to say it, but this is what they have done to
:30:50. > :30:52.does. -- They have done to us.
:30:52. > :30:57.Everyone's getting rid of the trailers.
:30:57. > :31:03.They are getting rid of the frailers and everyone is going to
:31:04. > :31:09.fight then after that. Marie and Margaret are moving their
:31:09. > :31:16.caravans on to a yard on the legal side of the site. It's a safe place
:31:16. > :31:22.for the caravans, and also for the children.
:31:22. > :31:27.Len is renting out the end of his garden to news crews.
:31:27. > :31:33.Sky, ITV and BBC, I have put them down here, they are putting their
:31:33. > :31:36.machines in place. The film crew is set up for tomorrow. They are going
:31:36. > :31:44.up and down there with photographers on it. They are
:31:44. > :31:48.taking their photographs. Look at him! Look at them out of
:31:48. > :31:54.Len's yard, filming. Look. No matter what circumstances you ain't
:31:54. > :31:59.coming back in here. OK? Yeah, I don't think that they like our
:31:59. > :32:04.machines going in here, but it's my garden. I do what I want. Not what
:32:04. > :32:09.they want. It makes a change for me to do something in the garden and
:32:09. > :32:13.pee them off, than for me to go down in the garden, them giving me
:32:13. > :32:17.abuse and I have to walk away. Now they have to walk aKray. That is
:32:17. > :32:27.kids throwing. That's the kids throwing stuff. You can see them in
:32:27. > :32:32.
:32:32. > :32:35.the yard, they're throwing it. That's the gypsy kids throwing it.
:32:35. > :32:45.It's the 18th of September. They're expecting the bailiffs in the
:32:45. > :32:46.
:32:46. > :32:49.morning. # We go down to Nelly's, to the
:32:49. > :32:57.crown # His engine runs on diesel
:32:57. > :33:07.# It will never let him down # Etake it is to Basildon Council
:33:07. > :33:29.
:33:30. > :33:37.# But Tony Ball is on the back, hey. Dale Farm is in lock-down.
:33:37. > :33:44.I think we're being tampered with, whatever way you want to put it.
:33:44. > :33:48.They have sabtooj Tajed two our -- they have sabotaged two of our Sky
:33:49. > :33:53.machines. It seems that they are up to it at the minute.
:33:53. > :33:56.All of these cables here... seems that the activists have cut
:33:56. > :34:01.the cables for the hydraulic machines.
:34:01. > :34:07.Your machines are not working, the other two have been tampered with.
:34:07. > :34:15.They have cut the cables. Have they? Yeah. Really? Yeah.
:34:16. > :34:21.The bailiffs could move in at any time today. No-one knows when.
:34:21. > :34:27.Do you know what we are so grateful for them people. Look at the state
:34:27. > :34:32.of them. Just look at the state of them. Look there, Richard. That is
:34:32. > :34:38.an elderly woman. She is locked down. There is a girl there to the
:34:38. > :34:42.gate. She has a chain around her neck! So, we're just grateful for
:34:42. > :34:50.these people's support. We've never had this in our entire life,
:34:50. > :34:55.Richard. Outside of the gate, it's a media
:34:55. > :35:00.scrum with reporters and photographers from across the world.
:35:00. > :35:10.500 police, bailiffs and security are moving into position.
:35:10. > :35:10.
:35:10. > :35:14.Everyone is waiting for the eviction to begin.
:35:14. > :35:20.The protesters behind there are determined that they will not leave
:35:20. > :35:28.their homes. As you say, we've been waiting for ten years to happen
:35:28. > :35:31.here. Now it has hopefully, it is hopefully going to happen. I expect
:35:31. > :35:40.reprisals for what is going to happen if it happens, it will
:35:40. > :35:45.happen. But I will make sure that if this never happens, the gypsies
:35:45. > :35:51.will never get away with anything else. I will persecute them as they
:35:51. > :35:56.have persecuted me. At 3m, the bailiffs advance. As
:35:56. > :36:06.they approach the gate one traveller recognising one of the
:36:06. > :36:08.
:36:08. > :36:13.men from the Borehamwood eviction. I know you. I do know you! A group
:36:13. > :36:16.of maybe 20 bailiffs accompanied by the police.
:36:16. > :36:21.Get a load of bricks and fire it at them.
:36:21. > :36:28.Calm down! There is a herd of police and bailiffs coming towards
:36:28. > :36:34.us. In the interests of health and safety... Is there anything that I
:36:34. > :36:44.can say or do that will persuade you to remove yourselves in an
:36:44. > :36:47.
:36:47. > :36:51.orderly American? Go home! Go home! Having issued a verbal warning, the
:36:51. > :36:59.bailiffs return to the council- controlled area to regroup and
:36:59. > :37:03.weigh up options, before poten shael -- potentially mounting the
:37:03. > :37:07.main assault. They are not going to get a lot
:37:07. > :37:13.done, Richard. Then at 5pm, dramatic news from the
:37:13. > :37:21.High Court. Did you all hear that you on the TV,
:37:21. > :37:25.everything is stopped until Friday. Yeah! Thank you, everybody!
:37:25. > :37:29.injunction has delayed the eviction for five days. The judge is worried
:37:30. > :37:39.that the eviction will be too heavy handed. He has asked the council to
:37:40. > :37:51.
:37:51. > :37:58.For now, the caravans that left a week ago return.
:37:58. > :38:04.APPLAUSE Over the next four weeks, the
:38:04. > :38:08.delays are extended as the travellers' lawyers ask for three
:38:08. > :38:12.judicial reviews. I think that the gypsies are
:38:12. > :38:16.getting another injunction and they'll win again. We'll be back.
:38:16. > :38:21.Thank you very much for coming in today. What's the last two weeks
:38:21. > :38:24.been like for you? It's been very stressful. Really a very stressful
:38:24. > :38:30.situation. They have won all the way down the
:38:30. > :38:33.line. The law is only in this country for one person, the Irish
:38:33. > :38:37.traveller. But on October 12th the time runs
:38:37. > :38:40.out. The judge in the High Court gives the final go ahead for the
:38:40. > :38:44.eviction. As for the travellers having
:38:44. > :38:50.engaged in the legal system, they must now abide by the law. They
:38:50. > :39:00.have reached the end of the road. I would therefore... We shall not
:39:00. > :39:01.
:39:01. > :39:06.be moved! We shall, we shall not be moved! We have lost.
:39:06. > :39:11.We're going to have to fight now. It will be a good fight.
:39:11. > :39:16.We're going to have a good fight with them all. Then we're going to
:39:16. > :39:22.have to leave. REPORTER: Are you going to go to
:39:22. > :39:27.school tomorrow? I don't know. I might do. It's my last day.
:39:27. > :39:32.It's the night before the eviction. The travellers have one last plea
:39:32. > :39:38.to make. God, if he think it is is necessary
:39:38. > :39:46.to have us left here, if it is in his power, we will be left here,
:39:46. > :39:52.right? Glory be to the Father and to the Holyy Spirit. Hail, Mary,
:39:52. > :40:02.the Lord is with thee, blessed is thou without r among women and
:40:02. > :40:16.
:40:16. > :40:26.It's 7.00am. After ten years of waiting the
:40:26. > :40:33.eviction has finally begun. The police have found a weak point
:40:33. > :40:43.at the back of 9 site. -- at the back of the site.
:40:43. > :40:48.
:40:48. > :40:55.Get away! Put is back! Taser. They deploy Tasers.
:40:55. > :41:05.Here! Here! 150 police in full riot gear.
:41:05. > :41:15.
:41:15. > :41:25.Stand back! Stand back! Stand back! You get back now! I have a legal...
:41:25. > :41:26.
:41:26. > :41:36.I don't care! Get back now. Anyone comes near me! Stand back now!
:41:36. > :41:36.
:41:36. > :42:21.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:42:21. > :42:25.The protesters are trying to keep Get back! One of the travellers
:42:25. > :42:30.make as plea to the police. There are children down there!
:42:30. > :42:33.There are babies down there. Officer, the children are down
:42:33. > :42:38.there. Normally the evictions are led by
:42:38. > :42:42.bailiffs, the police are there to keep the peace. The travellers are
:42:42. > :42:52.taken by surprise at this morning's approach.
:42:52. > :42:56.
:42:56. > :43:06.Where are they? You know you are wrong! Please, do not come nearer.
:43:06. > :43:12.I will - you will break their arms. That's the whole point of having us
:43:12. > :43:17.here! The activists throw stones and whatever else comes to hand.
:43:17. > :43:23.Diane, there are children here. Please, go back. There are children,
:43:23. > :43:28.mate. Away from the cameras, Mayme says
:43:28. > :43:34.she's been attacked. A policeman with his hand around my
:43:34. > :43:39.throat. Knocked me down by the side of the trailer. This is all
:43:39. > :43:44.completely unnecessary. It is insane, but we can stee is going on.
:43:44. > :43:49.I'm looking over Dale Farm now. We have the helicopters in the sky on
:43:49. > :43:54.top of the hill. There are so many police riot vans covering the field
:43:54. > :43:57.in case they attempt to break in through the back of the travellers'
:43:57. > :44:02.sites. At the front we have police in riot
:44:02. > :44:06.shields and vans. The protesters and their home-made
:44:06. > :44:16.defences are no match for the overwhelming number of of the
:44:16. > :44:39.
:44:39. > :44:45.There's babies in there! Leave her alone! It's her home! Chill out.
:44:45. > :44:55.Nora, don't get hurt. Her kids are in there! Her children are in
:44:55. > :45:01.
:45:01. > :45:04.there! Leave her alone! The council leader, Tony Ball, is on site
:45:04. > :45:09.supervising the operation. He explains the decision to send the
:45:09. > :45:13.police in first. From this morning it was decided it was a police -
:45:13. > :45:17.going to be a police-led operation to secure the site so that the
:45:17. > :45:27.council's bailiffs could go about the lawful business of carrying out
:45:27. > :45:30.
:45:30. > :45:40.Within half an hour, the police have reached this wall. But it
:45:40. > :45:53.
:45:53. > :46:03.belongs to a licensed yard and This is private property! Get out!
:46:03. > :46:22.
:46:22. > :46:27.This is private property. That's Wupbg young travel -- one young
:46:27. > :46:31.traveller sees her mother caught newspaper the fray.
:46:31. > :46:41.This is the house, Richard, this is the house. Private property! Look
:46:41. > :46:44.
:46:44. > :46:47.Honest to God, I never seen the likes of it in all my life. What
:46:47. > :46:53.are you going to do now, Mayme? Take the stuff out of there,
:46:53. > :46:56.Richard, put it in the car. Richard, honest to God, my heart is doing
:46:56. > :47:06.100 mile an hour, thinking of what they've done to me. Where are we
:47:06. > :47:10.
:47:10. > :47:19.going to go? Please tell me where The bailiffs is nothing compared to
:47:19. > :47:23.them. On the top of the hill I have more police riot vans than I have
:47:23. > :47:26.ever seen. The only way to describe it, it's worse than the riots in
:47:26. > :47:29.London. The police have gone round this site every way possible and
:47:29. > :47:39.broke in. We have had bottles thrown and everything else,
:47:39. > :47:41.
:47:41. > :47:51.missiles and everything else. It's like World War II down there.
:47:51. > :48:01.
:48:01. > :48:07.Go back you two-legged BLEEP We're human beings. And they're
:48:07. > :48:12.beating people up like we're dogs. This country's turned into a war
:48:12. > :48:16.zone, no peace. Only anger and hatred. The council say the
:48:16. > :48:19.travellers left them with no choice but to evict with force.
:48:19. > :48:23.I am absolutely clear that after ten years of negotiation to try and
:48:23. > :48:33.find a peaceful solution to this, that actually what we're doing is
:48:33. > :48:41.
:48:41. > :48:45.Meanwhile, the protesters have set light to an old caravan.
:48:45. > :48:49.What's going on, Mayme? Richard, will you look at me, I am cut
:48:49. > :48:53.opened. Trying to get out, they're pulling and dragging at you.
:48:53. > :49:03.police came in this morning? Yeah, it's bad. You have to see outside.
:49:03. > :49:33.
:49:33. > :49:36.Half the women got beatings, you I just want to get the message out
:49:36. > :49:41.to you, where is the bailiffs? Where is the bailiffs that's moving
:49:41. > :49:51.us out of our home, making us homeless? Where are they? Riot
:49:51. > :49:52.
:49:53. > :49:57.police! It took riot police to come here and treat us like this? Shame
:49:57. > :50:07.on you! You didn't promise this. You cheated us. You said you were
:50:07. > :50:08.
:50:08. > :50:16.coming in peaceful. By the end of the day 34 arrests
:50:16. > :50:22.have been made. How long it's going to take them to
:50:22. > :50:28.remove the protesters from the barricades now, and from under the
:50:28. > :50:38.vehicles on the entrance to the gates, until they get them people
:50:38. > :50:50.
:50:50. > :50:54.removed then move the vehicles, For the next 24 hours police with
:50:54. > :51:04.cutting tools slowly extract the protesters who are still locked on.
:51:04. > :51:05.
:51:05. > :51:09.But they put up barriers and won't let us see what's going on. The
:51:09. > :51:19.council say it's to protect their dignity, but the protesters say
:51:19. > :51:27.
:51:27. > :51:37.Six years after the scaffold was first put up, this symbol of
:51:37. > :51:46.
:51:46. > :51:50.resistance at Dale Farm is torn down. Victory. Victory. It's being
:51:50. > :51:56.removed from the bottom of my garden. The bailiffs have moved in
:51:56. > :52:03.and can now turn their attention to the yards. The few remaining
:52:03. > :52:10.protesters prepare for a last stand. Then the travellers have a change
:52:10. > :52:14.of heart. The traveller residents just decided that enough is enough,
:52:14. > :52:19.Richard. They don't want any more people getting hurt. Enough has
:52:19. > :52:22.been hurt yesterday that wasn't publicised. We did invite you, you
:52:22. > :52:27.are a long time with us and we are so grateful and thankful to you, we
:52:27. > :52:30.make a stand together when everybody is here and we will leave
:52:31. > :52:36.peacefully, activists and travellers together and show them
:52:36. > :52:40.we are proud people. But we're walking with the activists to say
:52:40. > :52:50.thank you, showing them that we respect them and we appreciate what
:52:50. > :52:53.
:52:53. > :53:03.they've done for us, but enough is enough. Save Dale Farm! Save Dale
:53:03. > :53:06.
:53:06. > :53:14.Farm! I am protecting Marina and all the
:53:14. > :53:23.rest. We're proud to be travellers. We're very proud to be travellers
:53:23. > :53:30.and we are not ashamed of it. Save Dale Farm! Save Dale Farm!
:53:30. > :53:40.After two months of living on Dale Farm, the protesters leave.
:53:40. > :53:58.
:53:59. > :54:03.I feel sad because all these are Some of the traveller families are
:54:03. > :54:07.also leaving. But after ten years of conflict,
:54:07. > :54:17.their neighbour Len is hardly triumphant.
:54:17. > :54:20.
:54:20. > :54:24.Wait until they've all gone, when the last one goes out. You don't
:54:24. > :54:28.feel... You are always going to get some that will make martyrs of
:54:28. > :54:31.themselves. The question remains: Will where the Dale Farm travellers
:54:31. > :54:36.go? The council have offered houses, but the travellers want to hold on
:54:36. > :54:42.to their traditional life in a caravan. They're not allowed to
:54:42. > :54:45.live on the roadside any more. But with 18,000 gypsy caravans in
:54:45. > :54:51.Britain, there aren't enough sites to go around. Travellers in the
:54:51. > :54:55.past have gone for green belt sites, it's obviously not suitable for
:54:55. > :54:58.development and it's very hard to get planning permission for. So I
:54:58. > :55:06.really think there's an opportunity for the travellers now to move on
:55:06. > :55:09.and act within the law, as well. The McCarthy family is splitting up.
:55:09. > :55:14.It's goodbye time now, Richard. But don't worry, we will get to meet
:55:14. > :55:19.one another again. All right, thanks very much. Pearl is going to
:55:19. > :55:24.stay 50 miles away on a friend's yard. It's only a stop-gap for a
:55:24. > :55:30.couple of weeks. The High Court has ruled that
:55:30. > :55:33.Margaret's chalet can remain so she can actually live on Dale Farm, but
:55:34. > :55:37.she can't live in a caravan and the bailiffs will be digging up her
:55:37. > :55:41.road. I am supposed to be living in there
:55:41. > :55:46.with two small children for God's sake! They're taking all this, all
:55:47. > :55:55.the front of the road, the drive and dumping me in there, they're
:55:55. > :55:58.assholes everyone of them, should be ashamed of themselves! And Marie
:55:59. > :56:04.will continue to stay on her relative's yard on the authorised
:56:04. > :56:09.side. But when he comes back she will have to find somewhere else.
:56:09. > :56:15.have no car, no caravan. This is my valuables, so I washed out the
:56:15. > :56:19.dustbins and put in all my stuff. Your stuff is in the dustbins?
:56:19. > :56:22.I had to put all my stuff in the dustbins and I have to try and find
:56:23. > :56:30.somewhere to put it, so I am going down the front yards and put it up
:56:30. > :56:34.somewhere. With the eviction over, the world's
:56:34. > :56:39.media have gone. The village of Crays Hill is getting back to
:56:40. > :56:44.normal. Len is waiting to see if the
:56:44. > :56:54.council turn Dale Farm into a proper green field. And he says he
:56:54. > :56:57.
:56:57. > :57:01.will sue them for their maladministration over the years.
:57:01. > :57:04.After �18 million, and a ten-year battle, most of the Dale Farm
:57:04. > :57:08.travellers have left. But Mayme's staying with her cousin in the
:57:08. > :57:16.legal property where the police demolished the wall. There's not
:57:16. > :57:24.much space here so she can't stay long. Travellers will never have
:57:24. > :57:30.rights. That's how life is for the traveller, Richard. People don't
:57:30. > :57:40.stop to see us as human beings. We're just dirty gypsies. That's
:57:40. > :57:42.