Gypsy and Traveller evictions continue at Hovefields

This from the activist list in support of Dale Farm; sadly evidence of exactly the kinds of evictions which damage health and leave lasting scars.

Everybody is feeling very bruised after the Hovefields eviction and the two instant police evictions under s61 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 around Gardiners Lane, which were done in jackboot fashion without the least mercy.

No attempt was made by the Essex police officers, led by Sgt Gordan acting under orders from Chief Insp.Schofield, to ascertain the circumstances of those he intended to evict, first from a car-park and the second time from a derelict garden where a house is awaiting demolition.

Among those forced to move at short notice - thirty minutes at Gardiners Way - were a pregnant mother, a boy with learning difficulties and a number of small children who had already undergone the trauma of seeing their homes bulldozed at Hovefields.

Meanwhile, further 28-day Notices of eviction may be served at any time on the few people still remaining at Hovefields, and on the 80 families at Dale Farm.

A bitter lesson from Hovefields is that sheer lack of paperwork prevented solicitors intervening to stop the destruction.

Direct action: If you are in Southend this week, please rally outside the County Court on Thursday 16th, when cases to be heard will test whether Basildon has fulfilled its duty under the Housing Act by offering bad-condition flats to Traveller families who have made it clear they cannot tolerate house-dwelling and simply want a place to station the trailer caravans and mobile-homes they own.

In London, cases relating to the Hovefields clearances are coming up in the High Court on 22 and 24 September. Again we are calling upon supporters to demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand on these dates.