A FARMER asked police if he could let two bulls loose on a field full of gypsies who had invaded his land and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Brian Hancock, of Brook Farm in Warmingham near Middlewich, was desperate to force the travellers from his field - but police could not allow it.

They advised him not to take the law into his own hands, but to let them deal with it.

The gypsies, who were camped out in 38 caravans until Friday last week, have now left the area, but Brian is faced with a major clean-up operation which could take months.

He believes that the police should have enacted powers under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to move the gypsies earlier.

He said: "I asked the police if I could send two bulls into the field. They would soon tip up the caravans and move them off, but they advised me not to or I could get into trouble myself.

"I also suggested muck-spreading, but the police told me that I could get charged with damaging their caravans. It's ironic considering they have ruined my land.

"I can't assess the full extent of the damage yet but I think it's going to cost me thousands of pounds."

Brian would have obtained about 170 bags of silage from the field, each of which costs about £10-£12.

He commented: "That's just loss of crop. They have also caused damage to the land by driving up and down the field and dumping rubbish such as tree cuttings, concrete, Tarmac, cans, packets and food.

"It's also been a real worry for my wife. She was scared to death of being in the house on her own when these sort of people were about."

But Brian is not the only farmer in the area whose land has been invaded by gypsies.

Bill Neild, a farmer who owns several fields next to Booth Lane in Middlewich, has encountered travellers on his land on two occasions.

He said: "Last October they cut the chains on my fence and drove on to a field.

"And a couple of weeks ago it happened again and we had to get a court order to move them. It's going to cost me about £1,000 for the order and goodness knows how much to rectify the damage to my land.

"The police have the power to move them but they don't use it. The gypsies have tipped endless amounts of rubbish on my field and given me abuse.

"It's terrible that they are allowed to do this. The law should be changed."

And Peter Richardson, who farms around 20 fields in Middlewich and Sandbach, is also extremely concerned about the recent gypsy invasions in Cheshire. He has urged police to take tougher action.

"Cheshire Police are not interested," he stated. "They should physically remove them from the land. About a week ago the gypsies came on to one of my fields, but fortunately left within two hours.

"I had it barricaded and they moved a huge piece of machinery in order to get in.

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