Eviction notices to be served on Sevenoaks Travellers - Kent

From This Is Kent

COUNCIL officers are due to serve eviction notices today on Travellers who forced two schools to close by camping in their car park.

Bailiffs acting for Sevenoaks Town Council will then move in tomorrow to remove any caravans still on the site

Last night, five of the eight caravans outside Sevenoaks Day Nursery and Hollybush Montessori School in Crampton's Road, Bat and Ball, moved off before the legal notices could be served.

Both schools said they would not reopen until the camp had gone.

Their decision to close followed a flare-up yesterday between Travellers and a parent who was trying to protect his child from a dog that was running loose around the camp.

The schools say their playgrounds have been ransacked and the children's toys taken since the first caravans started to appear on Sunday.

Teacher Vicky Lockyer said: "We tried to carry on as usual, even though our children can't play outside.

"Most of their toys have been taken, but tensions are mounting and it's better that we close until this is resolved."

Inspector Karen Festing from Kent Police said: "We understand that there has been some community concern and we have deployed patrols to the area regularly. "The encampment is on council-owned land so they will manage the process of serving eviction papers, but we have been supporting them as much as possible during this process.

"If any crimes are reported to us, then residents should be reassured that we will investigate these in the same way we would investigate any offence."