For continuing to work on a caravan site near Sir Winston Churchill’s family home after being told not to, travellers have been declared in contempt of court and may go to jail.
Enraged residents want the gang imprisoned for digging trenches and installing drainage pipes in violation of a local council-obtained injunction.
By turning the location in a lush area of Kent into a trailer park in under 48 hours, the group incited indignation.
They allegedly worked at a “extraordinary pace” on a Friday afternoon during a Bank Holiday weekend last year in an attempt to evade council action.
In August, Seasons Farm in Pootings, close to Westerham, received an injunction, known as a Dove order, prohibiting any more work at the site.
A judge at the High Court has now declared the party of ten travellers to be in contempt for violating the injunction.
The location is only a few miles from Chartwell, a rural farmhouse where Sir Winston Churchill spent more than 40 years.
The villa was purchased by the prime minister during the war in 1922, and he and his wife Clementine resided there until just before his death in January 1965. The National Trust is currently in charge of it.
Many residences in the green community of Pootings are up for sale for millions of pounds.
Traveller site in Pootings, Kent, where construction was done in violation of an injunction
At the location, families reside in twelve caravans, and residents have stated that “they do whatever they like.”
However, in the days and weeks that followed, the local council accused the travellers of violating the order and brought them back to court.
A new hearing will be held to decide on sanctions after a High Court judge decided in favour of the council.
There have been twelve caravans at the location. Recently, a brand-new £40,000 BMW automobile and a mobile home worth about £130,000 were parked on the property.
Locals report that by hurling eggs at neighbours, felling trees, releasing horses, and being a “nuisance,” they have produced “havoc” while at the location.
“It’s been dreadful,” one person remarked. They act anyway they choose. Eggs have been hurled at locals. It is frightening.They have hacked down trees and let their horses run loose into the road. The news that they were convicted in contempt of court is fantastic. It has been chaotic. For what they have done, I would now like to see them imprisoned and subject to severe fines.We must send out a clear message that we will no longer put up with this.
Travelling families ‘do whatever they like,’ according to locals in the leafy community of Pootings.
The National Trust is in charge of Chartwell, the family home of Winston and Clementine Churchill.
Locals claim that tourists have dropped eggs, chopped down trees, and released horses.
Patrick Delaney, William Harrington, John Quilligan, Thomas O’Brien, Thomas Coffey, Amanda Coffey, Chantelle Harrington, Sharon O’Brien, Katerina O’Brien, and Naomi O’Brien were listed as the 10 passengers engaged in High Court documents.
According to a judge, the guys purchased the land in order to “form a settled base” and planned the relocation.
As a deputy judge, Judge John Halford made the following decision: “I find that trenches were laid from the hardstanding area to the cesspool and that drainage and other pipes were added to the cesspool/septic tank area.”
Judge Halford continued, “It is clear to the criminal standard from the photographs that it occurred after notice of the Dove order,” but acknowledging that the “evidence is unclear as to when this happened and who was responsible.”
In the High Court, Judge John Halford has decided against the travelling families.
Access to the Pootings construction site, where construction was a “joint project for everyone’s benefit”
“I have concluded that the men either undertook these works, or permitted or instructed that they should happen, intentionally and knowingly in either case,” he stated. “Because the cesspool/septic tank was a joint project for everyone’s benefit, I consider each of the men responsible as this was part of the plan they had formed for the site.” In this regard as well, I believe that the men are all in contempt of court.
“Whether or not they knew and understood the terms of the Dove order before 29 August 2025, each of the women and men and are in contempt of court because they have breached the orders,” he later stated in the verdict.
Travellers have reportedly moved into locations during Bank Holiday weekends in recent months, taking advantage of the likelihood that council offices will be closed.
This has occurred at several locations in Surrey and Hertfordshire, including Sundridge, which is close to Sevenoaks.
“While we welcome the judgement of the court, we are unable to provide any further comment on the case as legal proceedings are ongoing,” a representative for Sevenoaks District Council stated.
When contacted at the Pootings site, anonymous traveller family members stated that “nobody available to comment.”
