Gypsies fail to travel to Warwickshire Police community event

Jun 28 2009 by Jasbir Authi, Sunday Mercury

‘‘We expected horses and are a little disappointed.

“We’ve got lots of friends who are travellers and wanted more of an insight into the old caravans.”

Insurance consultant John Loscombe, 53, travelled from Leamington Spa with his elderly parents for the event.

He said: “We came out of interest and thought we’d like to see Leek Wootton. It’s a good idea to break down barriers and learn more about the travelling community.

“But I thought there might be a few more caravans and the one they have is a bit modern.”

The Romany caravan owner was builder Charlie Smith, a 46-year-old traveller from Market Harborough.

He said: “The police asked me to bring the caravan as an attraction.

“Today is about educating people about the culture and we’ve been trying to break down racist barriers between gipsies and non-gipsies.

“The event has been organised in quick time and some of the travelling community were put off by the negative press.”

But Inspector Richard Woodcock, from Warwickshire Police, was upbeat about the “pro-active” event, which had been condemned by some critics as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

He said: “We measure success by the number of people who have come and if there were any problems.

“This was a golden opportunity for people to engage with travellers.”

And traveller Clarice Evon, 65, from Hinckley, said: “This is about breaking down myths.

‘‘There would have been a lot more travellers and gipsies here, but it’s the Cambridge Midsummer Fair and lots have gone there.

“But people from the Romany community have been chatting with the police. It’s marvellous.”

Nigel Rock, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Kenilworth and Southam, said: “I came today to find out about the different perspectives because there’s potential for friction between the travelling and stable communities, with good reason.

“We face problems with provision of sites for the travelling community.

“The police are always in the middle but if this helps community cohesion, then this will pay off.”