[beeman]

Im guessing some of the posters in here didnt actually read the story. They just saw travelers and started ranting. In this case just like in the VAST majority of cases the travelers actually do OWN the land in question they didnt "steel" the land from anyone they brought it a few months earlier. They also dont steel services like what was suggested earlier. generally when they take these sites on the first thing they do is install the piping for the services upto the property boundy then contact the services providers to install. MOST travelers DO indeed pay tax (both council and income). In this case the ONLY offense committed it changing the use of a property without appropriate planning permission (Though they have applied for the permission they started the work before securing said permission, something which they unlikely to get because the NIMBY's would never allow it).

What most people dont seem to understand is the difference between a "traveler" and a "pikey". The former tends to move between fixed pitches (where available and only occasionally set up on unused land (when theres no space available)).

BTW im not a traveler but i do know a couple who have lived in the site just up the road from me for the last 2 years.