Cops arrive at Rutland as 1,500 travellers start to leave chaotic festival

MORE THAN a thousand travellers who shocked villagers with their raucous behaviour are finally moving on.

Cops arrived at the Rutland Showground in Oakham this morning, to help move on the 1,500 who had attended a Christian event called the 'Festival of Light and Life'.

The event ended yesterday but despite the Light and Life tent being taken down, a large number of traveller caravans remained at the showground this morning.

Police officers were blocking vehicles from re-entering as motorist gradually began to exit.

We reported earlier this week how people living near the showground claimed to have endured a week of misery as travellers, "drag raced", and allegedly stole from shops, and abused owners and locals.

Leicestershire Police were forced to ramp up patrols, putting more officers on the streets and even operated a specialist drone team in the area.

During the week, cops made two arrests after receiving more than 100 calls complaining about the visitors who descended on the ground last weekend.

Residents told The Sun they were "scared to leave their houses" and described the town as "in a state a panic".

Local resident Carl Ford, 55, said: "The vast majority of them have been well behaved but a small number of them have caused absolute chaos.

"Most people have been locked down in their own homes again until this all passes over.

"They don't seem to be showing any urgent signs of leaving yet either, although some of them have been heading off today. I just hope they take their mess with them."

A nearby McDonald's restaurant was even forced to close following reports travellers were having sex in the loos.

And when asked to leave, campers allegedly "trashed" the burger joint – taking staff over three hours to clean up the mess.

Meanwhile on Monday, Wetherspoon’s Lord Nelson and The Wheatsheaf closed early for the day while the Old Buttercross served beers only with meals.

And The Admiral Hornblower stopped serving from mid-afternoon amid reports that up to 250 traveller campers were set to descend on the historic town centre.

Residents on social media questioned whether the event should have taken place – given the national spike in Covid case numbers.

Superintendent Jonny Starbuck said:

"We understand that anti-social behaviour can have a significant impact on the local community and I would like to thank them for working with us on this matter and I would encourage them to continue to report incidents to us.

"Again, we want to stress that this is a legal event and the majority of the people visiting are there to enjoy their faith.

"There are only a few who are determined to engage in this negative behaviour. We will deal with those who commit crime swiftly and robustly."

One asked the Rutland Showground: “How have you allowed a huge event to take place which threatens a community which has obeyed the rules and kept Covid levels low?"

Oliver Hemsley, leader of Rutland County Council, acknowledged the concerns earlier in the week but said allowing travellers to leave the site on the day originally agreed will "minimise impact" on roads.

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