The bank holiday traveller invasion: How families carry out brazen 'landgrabs' to build caravan camps under the noses of council chiefs while offices are closed

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT and JAYA NARAIN, REPORTER Published: 00:44, 8 April 2026 | Updated: 00:44, 8 April 2026 Most of us see bank holidays as a chance to relax with our families. But for others, they are simply an opportunity to break the law. Groups of travellers are taking advantage of long weekends to 'invade' pristine countryside before concreting it over while council offices are closed.  The trend sees families buy up fields before rapidly converting them into unauthorised caravan pitches when few officials are around to stop them. 'Retrospective' planning applications are then submitted to councils. Even if these fail, legal proceedings to clear the sites are long and costly - allowing travellers to live on them, or rent out caravans to tenants, for months or even years. A further two landgrabs took place over the Easter weekend, prompting Conservative MPs to demand a change in the law to prevent anyone from being able to apply for retrospective planning permission after 'flagrant' planning breaches. In Sundridge - considered one of Kent's most desirable villages - a group of travellers brought in diggers under the cover of darkness on Friday before spreading rubble on a field and smoothing it to make hard standing. Up to 30 lorries arrived at the site during the 'military style' operation, with the first family moving in on Sunday. Angry villagers called the police and tried to block the road - leading to one being arrested on Sunday for 'obstructing the highway'. In Flamstead, Hertfordshire, villagers say they spotted heavy machinery being moved in on Thursday night before a large area of concrete was laid on a field forming part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Once again, residents tried to stop the incomers but were met by thugs wielding iron bars. Police said they could intervene to prevent breaches of the peace but 'have no enforcement powers to prevent access to the land or building work taking place'. Flamstead, Hertfordshire: Villagers have been left furious after a group thought to be travellers barged their way onto a field  Sundridge, Kent: A lorry carrying a static home onto the legal site got stuck down a narrow lane  Your browser does not support iframes. The multi-millionaire residents of Sundridge are among those calling for stronger enforcement powers to stop travellers from using bank holidays as cover for wrecking the countryside. 'The council should have a quick response team backed up by police force if necessary,' one wrote online. 'Small groups should not be allowed to rip up the countryside like this.' Another resident, Eammon Johnston, added: 'They love the bank holidays - it takes longer to get a court order.' Laura Trott, the MP for Sevenoaks and shadow education secretary, insisted criminals were being encouraged by planning laws that leave open the prospect of traveller sites being allowed to remain even if they were built illegally. 'This situation underlines again why we must see a change in the law,' she said. 'Flagrant breaches such as this should never be able to apply for retrospective planning consent. 'Residents who follow the rules are understandably frustrated and angered when others show such disregard for planning law - and they are absolutely right to feel that way.' The Tory MP also condemned the Sevenoaks District Council for failing to take immediate action. 'I am incredibly disappointed and deeply frustrated to learn from the council that no action will be taken until Tuesday,' she said. 'Illegal developments must be shut down immediately, whether they occur over a bank holiday weekend or not. To help do this the law must catch up.' The field in question – which sits at the junction of Penn Lane and Church Road - was recently sold at auction. Local resident Karl Brooks said: 'Anyone can buy the land, use the Easter holiday, get the digger in, clear the ground, put in the hardcore, bring the caravans in by Monday. The enforcement team finished Thursday night so do what you want for four days.' Diggers and bulldozers descended on a field near Flamstead on Thursday  Villagers likened the situation to being 'invaded'. Pictured are tractors carrying out illegal works  Dacorum Borough Council said that an emergency injunction has been granted by the court to stop works at the site Cllr Nigel Williams, of Sevenoaks District Council and Kent County Council, echoed his frustration. 'I'm absolutely furious about this because the law is totally hopeless when it comes to situations like this,' he said. 'It was a military-style operation. They swept in on Friday morning pulled down trees and ripped up hedge and then lorry after lorry arrived with hardcore and they created hard standing for vehicles and homes. 'As soon as the district council opens, I will be imploring them to take out an emergency injunction and then to take further action to remove the travellers and return the site to its former condition.' The local parish council also declared itself to be 'extremely disappointed' that no action would be taken until today because of the Easter bank holiday. The illegal development in the Hertfordshire village of Flamstead has left locals similarly livid. Residents tried to stop lorries arriving at the site only to be met by 'violent abuse' and 'people wielding iron bars'. One man in his 50s told the BBC: 'The vans and caravans drove at us, basically, pushing their way through and bumping into people.  'They were determined to get through us and were really aggressive. It was absolutely horrendous.' Locals believe around 300 trips were made by people delivering materials onto the site, with the work continuing despite a stop notice being issued on Saturday by Dacorum Borough Council. One local man was arrested in the wealthy Kent village of Sundridge on Sunday morning for obstructing a police officer, but was later released Up to 30 lorries arrived at the site and dumped rubble on the field before workers flattened it to make hard standing Council leader Sally Symington said: 'These works are unauthorised and are a serious breach of the planning process. 'I share residents' anger and devastation that a section of the community has ridden roughshod over the council's planning processes and has now breached the temporary stop notice and occupied the site. On Sunday, the council applied for an emergency court injunction and papers were served later that day. An increase in illegal development over weekends and bank holidays has been a problem for years. Last May, a group of 30 Conservative MPs wrote to the Home Secretary to complain that travellers were buying 'rural or greenfield' plots in their areas before illegally converting them into permanent sites offering caravans to rent. They wrote: 'Across the country communities are now being subjected to a wave of illegal development. Purchasers, often from Gypsy, Roma & Traveller (GRT) communities, buy rural or greenfield plots. 'Over a weekend or bank holiday they carry out rapid works such as topsoil removal, laying hardcore, creating access points, pulling up hedgerows and installing fencing and sewage tanks. 'The site is quickly occupied with caravans and large mobile homes. This is all done with complete disregard for the law. 'Councils then face lengthy enforcement processes, as well as retrospective planning applications and appeals. This tactic can make immediate stop or enforcement action harder and ties up planning and legal resources for months or even years.' Last night, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch blamed the European Convention on Human Rights for making it harder to stop illegal sites. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Legislation introduced by the Tories in 2022 increased the period that police could ban travellers from an area from three to a year and gave officers the power to fine, arrest and imprison people living on roadside camps. But the legislation hit a roadblock in 2024 after the High Court found parts of it violated the ECHR.  'For years, towns and villages across Britain have been forced to accept criminality in their communities, but each measure we have used to deal with illegal traveller sites has fallen foul of the ECHR,' Ms Badenoch said. 'That is why I have serious plans to end the power of foreign courts to frustrate the will of Parliament, and to back our police with the powers and resources they need.' Sevenoaks District Council said about the site in Sundridge: 'Officers visited the site on several occasions over the bank holiday weekend as part of our response to the alleged planning breach. 'We are continuing to investigate today and are visiting the site again this morning (Tuesday 7 April) as we consider the legal and other enforcement options open to us.  'We are aware that one family has moved onto the site, which they own, and enforcement action will be proportionate to any breach, taking account of Government guidance and legislation as well as our local planning policies.' For many, their response is yet more proof of the plodding official response to flagrant law-breaking unfolding on their doorstep.  With two more bank holidays to follow next month, which village will be next?  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. 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