RESIDENTS of Britain’s “hippiest town” have accused caravan nomads of chasing each other with axes and leaving faeces on the street.
A new wave of van dwellers and squatters have left locals in a stink after committing “disgusting” acts on the street.
Glastonbury residents are horrified at behaviour they’ve spotted[/caption]
Britain’s ‘hippiest town’ has attracted a new wave of travellers[/caption]
One resident claimed they can smell the waste from their gym[/caption]
Glastonbury residents in Somerset have long been associated with the hippie movement, but locals are saying the lax lifestyle is causing havoc in their hometown.
Ben Anderson, 29, from the nearby village Street, says the residents in these caravans near their gym in Glastonbury have created chaos.
He said: “One woman who drives a BMW, I’ve sat and watched her in my office and she’s clearly a drug dealer.
”I’ve seen her come round the back of her caravan, squat down into a bucket and pour the poo into the street.
“We used to use a 400 metre long loop as a running route as part of our training, but we can’t now with the flies, the midges, the whole lot, it’s disgusting, it’s vile.
“We’ve seen many times where they’ve been arguing with each other, and fights as well, with axes chasing each other.”
Ben slammed their behaviour but said when the council acts on it locals can get caught in the crossfire.
He added: “When they were evicted from one of the units a while ago, they got annoyed and snapped the locks to our gym and superglued them too. It’s vandalism.”
Ever since the iconic festival began in the 70s, Glastonbury became synonymous with the alternative lifestyle.
The unconventional way of life, often associated with communal and simplistic living, has attracted an influx of nomads into the area who are looking to set up camp in the hippie haven.
Now some parts of Glastonbury have been slammed as “vile” with residents eager for the council to put a stop to irresponsible behaviour.
The new travellers have reportedly dumped litter on the street and spread excrement along paths, making the area unsuitable for children.
Maisey Durston-Cavill, 30, is a member of the gym near where the van dwellers stay and is shocked at how “unsafe” the area has become.
At one point she spotted two people chasing each other down the street with axes and machetes.
She raised concerns about children in the area being subjected to violence and ineffective waste disposal systems.
Maisey said: “We did an event here in summer last year, and there were three guys walking down past us with a machete.
”And a lot of our members bring kids – it’s obviously not safe. We’ve seen many times where they’ve been arguing with each other, and fights as well, with axes, chasing each other.
“The smell sometimes gets wafted over here while we are training at the gym. There’s also rubbish built up by the skatepark, and considering that’s for kids as well, it’s wrong.”
Maisey has lived in Glastonbury her entire life and said it was never like this when she was growing up.
The most recent travellers have been residing on the street for two weeks now and locals are grateful to hear some dwellers are being evicted.
Members of the affected gym wrote to the council and police begging them to improve the state of the road on which the caravans reside.
She continued: “It’s 100 per cent worse now. I don’t remember this as a kid.
“We do know they’re getting evicted, which is why the owner of our gym has paid for a new fence, to get our space sorted, as they’ve come in here before.”
Locals are claiming the new nomads are creating an unsafe environment[/caption]
The caravan dwellers have argued that the council has a responsibility of care[/caption]
Since the legendary festival started Glastonbury has been a renowned hippie haven[/caption]
One of the caravan dwellers is a 36-year-old Deej McCloud, who has received threats from Glastonbury residents.
He lives a nomadic lifestyle and claims squatter’s rights, making it an offence to force entry to an occupied building.
The nomad explained that often there isn’t any rubbish disposal available, which can be a “pain in the bum.”
McCloud said: “When I first pulled up to where I am, someone banged on my window saying I shouldn’t be there. There’s now a crack in it.
“I’ve tried to build a greater cross-community focus. There have been multiple deaths, mental health issues and it’s the most vulnerable who suffer.
“There’s a lot of sites around here without rubbish disposal. You can’t go to the tip without a licence. It’s not always straight-forward to take your rubbish to the tip these days. It’s a pain in the bum.”
McCloud was frustrated that the residents of Glastonbury see caravan dwellers as a nuisance and didn’t think moving on would solve any problems.
He insists the duty of care by the council hasn’t been upheld and raised further frustrations at the divide between the travellers and locals.
McCloud continued: “The NHS pushed the council to provide services in Covid, which proves that when showers and bins and the like are provided, they are used.
“I want the public to see us as an asset, not a nuisance. What the authorities have done at the moment is create an ‘us and them’.
“Moving us on isn’t solving the problems. There’s a duty of care which hasn’t been upheld.
“Gandhi said a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members. All the great philosophers of our time have understood that.”
Another resident, Ron Brown, 59, agrees that the council ought to be a little more responsible.
He said: “There’s a litter problem everywhere.
”It’s not just travellers, and the council has a responsibility to keep it clean. It’s the same with public services, if you have a public convenience, like toilets, keep it clean or close it.
“I think travellers under ancient law are allowed to move around. How they facilitate what they need to survive as far as water and hygiene is concerned is a problem.
”And it becomes a greater problem if they just dump their litter. But I honestly don’t have an answer to it.”
Rob knows the problems that arise with pouring waste into the street but believes there could be a more considerate approach to the conflict.
“As much as it’s annoying, it’s not life-threatening at the moment, and I think people just need to be a little bit more Christian and more caring in their approach – these people need to live somewhere.
“We’re not a poor nation, despite what we say, but we can’t move these people out of a £1000 caravan and put them in a £2000 a month rental apartment somewhere. Who is going to pay?”
The council said it’s currently working towards the development of a traveller site and claims it’s committed to tackling anti-social behaviour.
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: “Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police do work together with landowners and our communities, as necessary, to tackle anti-social behaviour when it’s reported.
“Over the past five years much work has been done by the council and partners, and this continues, funded by the Town Deal, a Government initiative.
“It includes support for roadside and vehicle dwelling communities, including housing advice, working towards development of a traveller site or sites both permanent and transit, as an Enabling Project in the Town Investment Plan.
“Where necessary, Highways schemes on the roads around the Tor to prevent overnight parking an unauthorised encampments, as well as enforcement on the site of the Zig Zag building and neighbouring trading estates.”
The Sun has reached out to Somerset Council for a comment.
What rights do squatters have?
Squatting is illegal in residential buildings with the potential for a six-month prison sentence and/or a £5,000 fine.
It is also a crime for a squatter to damage the property, fly-tip, steal from the property, use utilities without consent and not abide by a noise abatement notice.
But, they can become the owner of a house if they have occupied a property for about 12 years.
Squatters then have to fill in a form for ‘adverse possession’, complete with a statement of truth prepared with a solicitor, which will be decided by HM Land Registry.
The owner has 65 days to object and if they do, the application is normally automatically rejected by HMLR.
Squatting in non-residential properties isn’t a crime
