Rocks ‘thrown’ at young children on Horfield Common in Bristol

Rocks have been thrown at young children, fences cut with chainsaws and fire extinguishers set off at a cafe in a popular park in Bristol, residents say.

It comes after around 70 caravans parked on Horfield Common on Wednesday afternoon, staying until Friday morning.

The CEO of a community trust, which runs a center in the park, told the BBC people were “crying” and “shaking”.

A Bristol City Council spokesman said that due to “high levels of anti-social behavior and crime associated with the site”, police had taken a “highly unusual” decision to move the group on.

After being evacuated from the scene, the campers moved to Eastville Park, which was quickly surrounded by a heavy police presence, including a number of riot vans.

A police spokesman told the BBC on Friday afternoon that they had issued the Horfield camp with a notice to leave “while trespassing and causing significant disruption”.

They added that they were “engaging” with the Eastville Park group and that the group “has since moved in and out of the Bristol area”.

Sam Thomson, who heads Ardagh Community Trust, which manages the facilities on Horfield Common, said “a lot” of people came into the park cafe “very upset, visibly upset, who had some sort of altercation and were shouted at or shouted at or swore at”.

“The whole atmosphere was very intimidating,” she added. “And then we got to the position where the vandalism happened – chainsaws taken to some of the fences outside, someone with an ax breaking something in the park.

“We had a series of problems in the cafe, then the kids came in who set off the fire extinguishers, knocked over the fridge and stole ice cream.”

A parkrun event for juniors, usually held on Horfield Common every weekend, has been canceled after a storage area was broken into and equipment stolen – including a mobile phone which volunteers say was then used to call them in the middle of the night.

People also broke into the polytunnels of the local gardening group and overturned the gardening equipment inside.

The damage was so bad that Ardagh Community Trust says it now has to pay for private security.

“With the best will in the world, we’re not here for that,” Ms Thomson said. “Our staff are not here for rugby to tackle people over ice cream.

“We don’t want it to be a fortress — it’s a community space.”

The decision was made to close the cafe on Thursday, with most community events in the space cancelled.

A forest school session for young children took place on Friday morning as the course was due to take place entirely indoors, but eventually the police had to be called after children were seen ‘throwing stones at young children’ from beyond by a fence.

“We have a long and proud tradition of travelers coming to Horfield Common, they have for years, but this is very different,” Ms Thomson said.

“It’s the scale – one or two caravans and a few families traveling together is one thing, but this is not it.”

The group had previously been camped on the Downs in Clifton but were evacuated and relocated on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “We have received a number of reports of anti-social behavior issues and criminal damage at Ardagh Community Centre, including vandalism to trees and fences.

“It was also reported that equipment belonging to a running club was stolen.

“Officers have attended and are investigating.

“They continue to engage with those on the site and with Bristol City Council.”

Ms Thomson told the BBC that the police had been called several times and both officers and the council had supported the community organisation.

A Bristol City Council spokesman said: “Using police powers to remove an encampment is very unusual, but the impact on the local community prompted the decision to take immediate action.

“The council’s Roma Gypsy Traveler Team is working closely with the police and will support the evacuation. The Council will also clean up any mess left behind by the group.

“The vast majority of Gypsy travelers passing through the city are law-abiding and abiding citizens, and operations of this nature are exceptionally rare.”