More elderly members of the group were reportedly shaking with fear as some lay down before moving cars

There followed a stand off for nearly an hour before the group of travellers left after the police arrived

When councillors heard travellers were arriving, they ran out of meeting on Monday and stood in the way

Essex village's green has previously been the site of illegal camp and locals were angry about the mess they left


Worried villagers lay down in front of cars and vans to stop travellers setting up camp on their playing field.

Parish councillors and others from Weeley in Essex rushed out of a meeting to form a human barricade in front of a nearby park.

The resulting stand-off lasted nearly an hour as locals, including a number of retired women, refused to let the travellers and their caravans onto the grass.

The drama unfolded as the monthly parish council meeting was due to start in the village on Monday night.

This is the moment villagers stood in the way of the group of travellers to stop them accessing a park

Parish councillors and locals, who were in a meeting in the village hall when the group arrived, said the atmosphere was tense but they were determined not to allow the travellers access to the site

Villagers in Weeley in Essex formed a human barrier and lay down in front of vehicles to stop the group

County councillor Andy Erskine was in the car park when he saw the convoy arriving and rushed inside the meeting to raise the alarm.

Mr Erskine said: 'They ran out. There were already members of the parish council laid on the ground in front of the vehicles.'

Mr Erskine described the atmosphere as 'very edgy'. He said: 'Most of the parish councillors are retired ladies. I was really worried about their safety.'

District councillor Mike Brown laid in front of one of the travellers cars for 20 minutes as the stand-off continued.

Mr Erskine said: 'He was shaking but he was determined not to let them on to the field.'

Mr Brown added: 'There was already a caravan and a truck on the field and a car and another caravan trying to get through the gate.

'Two of us stood in front of the car. It was pushing us so I laid down on the floor. I thought they will have to damage me to get in.

'The ladies went in front of the other car and there was stalemate for 40 minutes until the police turned up. By then other travellers had started to drift off.'

Police persuaded the travellers to leave the site.

Landowners were alerted and a farmer barricaded the playing field with heavy machinery.

After word got out of what was going on, a local farmer brought down machinery to secure the site

Many of the parish councillors who stood in the way are retired and they said they feared for their safety

Locals said it was lucky the meeting was on at the time or they may not have realised what was happening

Members of the parish council said the cars pushed into them and they feared they would be hurt

(Left to right) Parish Council Vice-Chair Christine Hamilton, resident Carol Bannister, County Councillor Andy Erskine and parish councillor Anita Bailey were in the group who repelled the travellers

Mr Brown, a dental technician, admitted the 'adrenaline was pumping' as he blockaded the gate. He said: 'Some people think I was blooming stupid.'

Parish councillor Anita Bailey, who also joined the human shield.

The NHS administrator Anita Bailey said she was concerned after she realised a wedding was due to be held in the field over the weekend and feared it would be wrecked.

The 46-year-old said: 'We all got up, and fled across the field.

'By the time we got across unfortunately there was one caravan on the field, one almost on, but not quite, behind that there was a transit van, and behind that another caravan.

'These ladies have got in front of the car a couple of other parish councillors got down on the ground in front of the transit van to stop it, but it was still moving forward. So they laid down on the floor.

'I wasn't scared, I just wanted to stop what they were doing. First of all I called the police and said you need to get down here ASAP.

'I started filming, but stopped because things were getting more volatile.

An illegal camp was set up on the field two years ago and the parish council was left with a major clean-up operation after travellers left the area.

Photos show how the village green was occupied by travellers three years ago, sparking anger

Villagers say the last travellers to move into the site left a mess which cost thousands to clear up

The travellers were trying to pass through the car park of the village hall and through a gate onto the green

A piece of farm machinery has now been placed behind the gate to prevent access to the field

Weeley, which is near Tendring in the east of the county, has a population of around 1,768

The stand-off took place on the green in the village near Clacton in Essex in the south east of England

Councillor Mike Brown said: 'It is one of the reasons we feel so strongly about it.

'Over the years myself and the tree wardens have planted probably 40 trees there and half were damaged which was a damn nuisance.

'The Scout hut couldn't operate because of human faeces. It cost a lot of money to sort it out.'

The parish council also spent £2,000 on a special gate designed to keep travellers out.

The travellers were accused of cutting the lock with bolt cutters, although they claimed it had been left open. 'They got past it in seconds,' said Mr Brown.

Parish councillor Anita Bailey said: 'It cost us a lot of money the last time they were here and we were worried we were going to have a repeat performance. We were just determined we weren't going to let them on the field.'