Villagers form human barricade and lie down in front of vehicles to stop Gypsies setting up camp on their playing field

Mr Erskine said: ‘They ran out. There were already members of the parish council laid on the ground in front of the vehicles.’

Mr Erskine described the atmosphere as ‘very edgy’. He said: ‘Most of the parish councillors are retired ladies. I was really worried about their safety.’

District councillor Mike Brown laid in front of one of the travellers cars for 20 minutes as the stand-off continued.

Mr Erskine said: ‘He was shaking but he was determined not to let them on to the field.’

Mr Brown added: ‘There was already a caravan and a truck on the field and a car and another caravan trying to get through the gate.

‘Two of us stood in front of the car. It was pushing us so I laid down on the floor. I thought they will have to damage me to get in.

‘The ladies went in front of the other car and there was stalemate for 40 minutes until the police turned up. By then other travellers had started to drift off.’

Police persuaded the travellers to leave the site.

Landowners were alerted and a farmer barricaded the playing field with heavy machinery.

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After word got out of what was going on, a local farmer brought down machinery to secure the site

 Many of the parish councillors who stood in the way are retired and they said they feared for their safety

 Locals said it was lucky the meeting was on at the time or they may not have realised what was happening

 Members of the parish council said the cars pushed into them and they feared they would be hurt

Mr Brown, a dental technician, admitted the ‘adrenaline was pumping’ as he blockaded the gate. He said: ‘Some people think I was blooming stupid.’

Parish councillor Anita Bailey, who also joined the human shield, added: ‘A couple of parish ladies stood in front of the car to stop it from moving.’

‘Our chairman Peter Dumsday laid down in front of a Transit van and I sat down in front of the car with other parish councillors.

‘The situation started to get very lively. I was worried people were going to get hurt so I phoned the police again and in a few minutes they arrived.’

An illegal camp was set up on the field two years ago and the parish council was left with a major clean-up operation after travellers left the area.

Councillor Mike Brown said: ‘It is one of the reasons we feel so strongly about it.

‘Over the years myself and the tree wardens have planted probably 40 trees there and half were damaged which was a damn nuisance.

‘The Scout hut couldn’t operate because of human faeces. It cost a lot of money to sort it out.’

 Photos show how the village green was occupied by travellers three years ago, sparking anger

 Villagers say the last travellers to move into the site left a mess which cost thousands to clear up

 The travellers were trying to pass through the car park of the village hall and through a gate onto the green

 After the previous incident, locals funded a special gate to try to prevent people accessing the village green

 A piece of farm machinery has now been placed behind the gate to prevent access to the field

The parish council also spent £2,000 on a special gate designed to keep travellers out.

The travellers were accused of cutting the lock with bolt cutters, although they claimed it had been left open. ‘They got past it in seconds,’ said Mr Brown.

Parish councillor Anita Bailey said: ‘It cost us a lot of money the last time they were here and we were worried we were going to have a repeat performance. We were just determined we weren’t going to let them on the field.’

COUNCIL PUTS BOLLARDS AROUND VILLAGE GREEN TO STOP TRAVELLERS

A council has taken the drastic action of planting 25 large concrete bollards around the edge of a village green to stop a traveller group from camping there.

Braintree District Council has placed the blocks around the green in the centre of Great Notley in Essex after travellers moved onto parkland 200 yards away.

The council is trying to evict the family of 40 travellers, which have been camping near the village school for the last 10 days, but fears that if they are moved on they may set up on the green.

They placed the bollards around the green this week to prevent vehicles driving on to the grass and hope they can be removed once the travellers leave the village.

 Braintree District Council has placed blocks around the green in the centre of Great Notley in Essex

 The council fears travellers currently living on a site near the village school will try to move onto the green

District councillor Graham Butland, who has sought a court order to evict the group, said: ‘Assuming that our court order is granted on Thursday morning, which I am confident of, the order will give the travellers 48 hours’ notice to leave the site.’

‘If they do not comply with the order, and refuse to leave, then we will enforce the order by instructing bailiffs, who will be supported by police officers – but it would be unusual for things to get to that stage.

‘I’ve spoken to the travellers personally on three occasions and I think there are good and bad in all groups of people. The position they have adopted has not been aggressive.

‘We hope the encampment will be moved on in as peaceful a manner as possible.

‘But we, as a council, are ready all any contingencies. We have put 24 or 25 large concrete bollards around the village green just down the road to block any access for vehicles.