Club secures £10,000 grant to fence grounds

Work was completed in three days to secure the Witchford playing fields

A village club has secured £10,000 to erect fencing around its playing fields to prevent people from using the land for unauthorised encampments.

Witchford Social Club in the village of Witchford, Cambridgeshire, said some members of the traveller community illegally used their seven-acre playing field in July.

The club was awarded a £10,000 grant form Witchford Parish Council after it claimed the visitors broke the gates to the field to gain access.

The charity, Friends and Families and Travellers, said only 30 socially-provided sites had been built in the past three decades, which fell "astonishingly short of demand" and left thousands of Gypsy and Traveller families "effectively homeless".

The Witchford Social Club chairman said about 40 people from the traveller community arrived on the site illegally

Martin Skilbeck, the director of Witchford Trading Limited and chairman of the village hall and social club, said he applied for a grant to make the fields secure on 7 August.

"[The Parish Council] agreed there and then... the next morning the money was in our account, we got to work immediately," the 55-year-old said.

The club has new fencing, telescopic bollards, metal posts and CCTV.

Mr Skilbeck said the cost for bailiffs, security and enforcement came to £6000, but villagers fundraised over £5000 to recoup for the losses

On 26 July, Mr Skilbeck said the gates at the club were broken and six caravans had been moved onto the site.

He parked his van across the roadway to stop more people gaining access to the land, but then eight more caravans arrived.

"Things got heated as the visitors tried to remove my vehicle... it was very intimidating," he said.

"The police threatened to arrest me unless I moved my van as they said I was obstructing the public highway. I couldn't believe it."

On 29 July the members of the travelling community left after a court order and enforcement officers were supplied.

Mr Skilbeck says the gates were removed by the visitors and a farm trailer was put across to secure the gap

A Friends, Families and Travellers spokesperson said: "Without somewhere to stop, accessing basic needs like sanitation, refuse and healthcare is extremely difficult.

"Creating more safe stopping places means families have somewhere to stop and access essential services. Everyone deserves to live with safety and security."

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said officers visited the site regularly, but added: "If it's private land, then it's trespass, which is a civil issue.

"We were called and attended in order to keep the peace. No crimes were identified and as this is private land, it was dealt with by the landowner."

Mr Skilbeck says the grounds had to be cleaned after the caravans left