Many pubs in Margate and Cliftonville closed the doors early last night after a number of disturbances understood to have involved members of a Traveller group currently sited at the Lido car park in Cliftonville.
Residents and businesses have reported damage and intimidation in bars and shops stretching from Margate High Street up to areas of Ethelbert Crescent and Fort Crescent.
Bugsy’s Bowling is reported to have hired an all-day security guard after incidents at the venue, events are expected to be cancelled at the Britannia pub and incidents were reported at the Bellvue pub and Smith’s Court Hotel.
Pubs and some takeaway premises closed their doors at around 9.30pm following discussion with police.
A Kent Police spokesman said: “Kent Police was called at 8.47pm on Wednesday 28 August to a report a group of people were behaving antisocially at a premises in Margate High Street. Officers attended and dispersed the group.
“The patrols also liaised with nearby licensed premises and a number of them took the decision to close to prevent possible breaches of the peace.”
A working group has been set up to investigate the issue and look at areas including Traveller accommodation, security measures and increased enforcement at high risk areas.
Margate councillor Rob Yates said: “”I brought up the issue of travellers causing disruption to local Margate businesses at the last council Travellers Working Group and this is something that we do discuss.
“The Working Group has already discussed which areas are completely unacceptable to be used as camps in Thanet and further details will be brought back to council in due time. I hope that whoever caused the disruption in Margate last night will feel the full force of the law as this behaviour is completely unacceptable. We have CCTV in place which I hope will be used to aid any potential prosecutions.”
An update from the council’s Travellers Review sub committee was due on October 22 but has been postponed. The meeting will now take place on November 19 at the council offices in Cecil Street from 7pm. Members of the public may attend.
To report antisocial behaviour contact the Thanet Community Safety Partnership on community.safety@thanet.gov.uk
Down to an inefficient council unable to deal with the traveller groups that are taking over our towns causing as much anti-social activity as possible because they are unable to conform to live peacefully. These people would love to see the breakdown of society to their own level with everyone fighting amongst themselves and being law-breakers. Chase them out of Thanet and fine them wherever they stop for all their illegal activities in the chase.
But until the police and TDC start dealing with them to stop these issues we will just have to put up with it.
travellers have been travelling for years and coming to Thanet for years no news there!
The ones residing on the lido should be enforced by the police to feck off!
I do not like thugs and these are traveller thugs wanting to incite fights and crime in our town
come on Kent police do your job and bulldoze them off
fines is no good they have no money
they are not welcome in our town if you cannot live like the rest of us do
in peace
I would gladly work in a team of youth workers in Cliftonville and I think it it is time we had a group of us with a psco.
I do not want paying though I will do it free!
Working with travellers who cause drama and crime put them in jail
Rebecca why not bulldozer there motors over the cliff they won’t be travelling anywhere then this lot are trouble wherever they go just ask Chatham police.
Isn’t it about time the Police came down hard on these Travellers, all the antisocial behaviour that always comes with them, could start by checking, to see how many have Road Tax, insurance & an M.O.T.
How about arresting them rather than dispersing them.
we can make citizens arrests
where is the back up deparment to throw them in jail
JAIL THEM
It’s about time there was a big clamp down on these so-called “Travellers.” They are in fact a static crime wave, if they were Traveling they would not be a problem its when they stop they are a nightmare.
The Police have discretionary power under Section 61 and 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which empowers the senior officer present to direct people to leave land if certain criteria are met.
The Police can also commence proceedings to move Travellers on if they are obstructing the public highway.
Just leaving this here.
Under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the police, at their discretion, can instruct trespassers, travellers or gypsies to leave land providing reasonable steps have been taken by, or on behalf of, the landowner to ask them to leave and that two or more persons are trespassing on the land with the common purpose of residing there.
Plus one of the following three conditions must also be met:
if any of those persons has caused damage to the land or to property on the land; or
used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the occupier, a member of his family or an employee or agent of his; or
Those persons have between them six or more vehicles on the land
Rob’s quotes, so good they gave them twice…
Stop them before they get into Thanet yes I am a nimby!
Has anybody seen the disgraceful state of the travelers camp site at the Lido. It is covered in waste and bottles all over the ground, with all their kids playing amidst it all. Absolutely disgusting.
I went round to Dalby Square last night
bottles and bottles left by the bottle bank
I carried two bags to one of the bins in athelstan road
bottles from anyone and anywhere
lady told me there was going to be a fight
I told her who with
travellers and the young people who live here
they are thugs she said and crime invested ones
Kent police arrrest them please for disturbing the peace alone of this lovely piece of Thanet and tell them they are barred from entering into Thanet
okay so you want to fight then open the boxing ring and learn how to fight that way not by inciting hatred or anger
We live opposite the bottle bank and have been clearing bags of bottles for weeks now as the recycling bins are full. We did a further 2 big sacks last night ( about 8.30?). People drive to drop off bottles, see it’s full and just dump the bags.
Drives us mad as then certain teens will have a glass throwing game late at night.
Also I noticed your post about volunteer youth work. You could Contact the Quarter Deck in Zion place as they do loads of things with local youngsters in the area.
The problem with that bottle bank is that when installed it was “a new idea” which is all well and good until you realise there are few vehicles that can empty it, hence it being full so much of the time.
Have you all ever seen what happens to the police when tackling these pikies in Yorkshire 3 police chased a pikey in to a lane with 15 caravans of families yes they got their man but only when armed police plus 10 more officers arrived the only thing that saved them was one of the three had a German shepherd dog they came out about thirty big fellas with chains clubs baseball bat’s the chap they caught was 3 times plus the legal drink driving limit and when they looked at the video when back at station there was a baby in the footwell it is not easy as it seems to go against pikies. Even for the police.
It looks like they may have gone according to the next posting on this paper were to some of the motors were in Chatham recently according to photos with same registration number different location and different days there was fighting there with the locals to. Sounds like they are nothing but trouble ghat group.an anyone confirm that they have gone please.
If people stopped paying them to do shoddy jobs and rubbish relocation then maybe they wouldn’t keep coming back. Referencing another comment about them having no money , then how do they afford £35,000 caravans and motorhomes that cost a lot more.
More vigilante action from locals please.
Kent Online and the Daily Express have similar headlines relating to Deal (just around the coast). This is not just a Thanet problem. I hope comments posters are writing to the authorities that can actually do something about these issues and not just moaning, as they generally do about Travellers and local litter related items
It’s about time the travelling community were given designated areas in the county. Kent is the only county not to provide travellers with any designated areas in the country. It’s not right to constantly leave the community in limbo.