A PENSIONER tried to stop travellers coming onto a recreation ground by holding a set of gates shut.

Travellers turned up at the recreation ground behind Langham Community Centre in School Road, at about 6.30pm last night. 

About ten caravans tried to get through the double gates to the ground, which is owned by the parish council.

At the same time the 2nd Langham Scouts were in the community centre, as were local councillors who were preparing for their annual meeting.

Bob Schofield, a pensioner who sits on the recreation ground sub-committee, was made aware of the travellers when a scout member called out to him.

He said: "A scout told me there were travellers coming in through the gate, so I went across and tried to stop them but they told us to get out of the way.

"I won't tell you the language they used. In the end I said for us to move out of the way and we called the police."

Police gave the travellers 24 hours to move off the site.

Mr Schofield, who has been with the parish council on the sub-committee for 27 years, said they had not been very pleasant.

He added: "There were several of them, about a dozen flying about.

"The double gates have been there a few years and I don't know if they lifted them off their hinges but they were wide open.

"We tried to shut the gate on one side, and there were five or six travellers on the other side trying to push it open again.

"They were everywhere, it was like something you see on the television.

"It's not very good on a recreation ground where there are children, we just hope nothing happens."

Another member of the public who was there at the time said most of the caravans were already on the recreation ground by the time they got there.

He said: "There wasn't anything we could do about it, we tried to close the gates as a token gesture but it was pointless.

"They were aggressive and unpleasant, they physically blocked me.

"The police turned up at about 7.45pm."

Essex Police has been contacted for an official comment.