News
3rd Feb 2010
Moving On
The traveller group who've been a nuisance in Victoria Road over the last week have been on the move again this week. On Monday they were evicted from 67 Victoria Road, and they moved in to the old Baty site further up the road.
After a brief sojourn there, they moved to the town centre Cyprus Road car park and became a problem for the MSDC. As I suggested last week, the hands of the police were tied by the fact that they numbered under six vehicles. Sgt Simon Alexander of Sussex Police told me that ...
"This is a small group of travellers, basically one family. They have fewer than 6 vehicles in total so the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act is harder for us to enforce as often they do not meet the requirement. The family is 'making a point' to West Sussex that they have local links and are needing a permanenet site which West Sussex can not supply to them. To that end I feel they will continue to remain in the area without moving far. Family circumstances also compound this need to be in the local area."
So, some respite, for now, but there is no cause to drop the guard, and evidence that companies should again review the security around premises. Prevention is definitely better than cure, and a look at the state of the site they occupied after they left would support this statement.
Or you could speak to Peter Wellings, whose Custom West building is next door to that site. He is counting the cost of the damage done to his building and the overnight guarding needed to protect his £250,000 stock.
Thanks go, as always, to the police for their efforts to deal with a very difficult situation.
