Gypsy family thrown off Salford site formerly run by TV star Paddy Doherty - Lancashire

From the Manchester Evening News

A Gypsy family has been thrown off the Traveller site formerly run by TV star Paddy Doherty after jumping the queue for a plot.

The Doran family illegally moved on to Duchy Road Caravan Park in Salford in November.

Now a court has ordered Bridget Doran, 30, and her family off the site after finding her guilty of trespassing and occupying a plot without permission.

Doran and her family moved another caravan off the plot in question so they could move on to it, Manchester Magistrates' Court was told.

Housing association Salix Homes took over the site from Paddy Doherty - star of the Channel 4 shows My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5 - in 2011. All tenants must join a waiting list to move on to the site - something the Dorans failed to do.

The court heard how Doran had ignored Salix workers when they told her she had set up an 'illegal encampment'. She even declined offers to help her family find an alternative plot in Manchester or Bolton.

Magistrates ruled Doran had not followed the correct procedure and served her with a notice to vacate the plot.

Sue Sutton, director of customer and neighbourhood services at Salix Homes, said: “We welcome the magistrates’ decision to order Bridget Doran and her family to leave the Duchy Road Caravan site.

“Since Salix Homes took over management of the site three years ago, we have greatly improved conditions for families living at the site and there is now real integration with other communities in the area. Plots are now highly sought after and we have a long waiting list and a strict allocations procedure in place.

“The magistrates ruled that Salix Homes had followed the correct procedures throughout this case and we offered assistance to help the family find an alternative site elsewhere.

"While we sympathise with the family involved, unauthorised Gypsy encampments can have a negative impact on the rest of the community and Salix Homes takes this issue very seriously.

"We hope this case serves as a warning to others that we will take action against anyone who chooses not to comply with our tenancy rules.”