Hughes and cry

South Somerset District Council issued an enforcement order for them to leave the land, which the family has ignored, and now the family is defying an injunction issued in the High Court which required them to leave the site by Monday 31 August and restore the land to its original state by Friday 25 September.

They family say they want to continue following the Romany culture on the land which belongs to Mrs Hughes, and where they have water, electricity and a telephone landline for their three touring caravans and two static homes.

Lack of flood-risk assessments has been given as a reason by the council for the refusals of planning permission, but Mrs Hughes said: "We have never had any problems with flooding in the seven years we have been here."

She said solicitors have told her she could face going to prison if the High Court injunction is not complied with. Mr Hughes, aged 66, admits he would go back to the traditional travelling ways of his ancestors if he was on his own, but realises the importance of stability and schooling for his ten grandchildren.

"If we leave here, we will have to stay on the side of the road and have no running water to wash the children," he said. "We do not want to send the children back to school without having a shower.

"When I was younger we were always moving and I did not go to school and now cannot read or write. I would do odd jobs by knocking on people's doors, but you cannot do that any more. My grandchildren have not got a chance in the future unless they have a good education so they can get work when they are older. I need my family to have an education."

The youngest grandchild is three weeks old and the oldest, Arthur Tyson Hughes, is 21, but is mentally handicapped. The family say he has the mental age of a four-year-old and needs constant care.

Mrs Hughes, 60, appeared in a book published last year about the travelling community, called Dreams Of The Road. She says her ancestors have been travelling around Somerset for hundreds of years, but now she wants to stay put.

"I could not live in a house because this is my culture. I love the outdoors," she said. "If we do not leave, though, I could face going to prison and I do not want that.”

"We will stick up and fight for this as we do not want to give up. The council could save the money they have to spend on finding us a plot for us if they let us stay here at no cost to the taxpayer."

But Lucy Hughes, the daughter of the site owners, said her family had been in the area for 60 years since her father was a little boy. "We've been brought up around here and I don't think it's right for us to go on the road," she said.

The councillor responsible for housing in the area has said he will stand down if a suitable site is not found for the Hughes. Deputy leader of South Somerset District Council Ric Pallister, whose portfolio includes housing and inclusion, said: "We are going to crack this one, otherwise I'm going to give up in the end, but I'm certainly not going to give up lightly."

Central government has given the council £300,000 to acquire and gain planning permission for new sites and Mr Pallister said he was confident there would be pitches available in the next year.

 "If they have to live on the road it will leave me desperately unhappy because I think I would have failed spectacularly in what I've been trying to do for a number of years now, which is to try and make provision for families such as this," said Mr Pallister. "I want to stop the tension, stop the strife. [If] I've failed on that, I might as well not be here."

Another resident Stella Cooper said: "We don't know what to do. All we can do is go on the side of the road.

"We've got to burn the caravans, we've got nowhere to put our animals. If we're on the side of the road, where can I send them?," she said of her children. There won't be toilets or showers there."

"I can't send them to the school stinking. They have no education, they won't be like normal children. They'll be put away like animals."

Travellers Times Online and BBC Somerset will be broadcasting an special programme about the Gypsy and Traveller community in Somerset on Saturday 26th of September betwen 10am and Midday. Listen live on the radio on 95.5FM and 1566AM.

Or online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio/bbc_radio_somerset_sound/