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Police swoop on travellers' camp
POLICE swooped on a Fylde travellers camp after reports of a violent assault.
Neighbours told of police vehicles "racing" towards the camp-site on Fairfield Road, near Hardhorn in Poulton, during the incident on Monday night.
Officers today confirmed they were called in after reports of an assault. The man they were looking for tried to flee in a car but the gate to the site was blocked by a police van.
He then tried to escape on foot but was tracked down and arrested.
A 21-year-old man is in custody.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "We've had lots of problems with travellers over the past few weeks.
"We were woken by what sounded like a massive police operation with helicopters flying over our homes and several police vans racing through Hardhorn to the camp-site.
"It went on for several hours and looked as if people were taken away. It kept most of the neighbourhood awake."
The previous day, police had received calls from concerned members of the public about "lamping" taking place at the site – the practice of hunting with high-powered flashlights.
Neighbours voiced their fears earlier this month when the group moved on to the field.
In a letter to councillors, one neighbour raised concerns about noise, road safety and a potential drop in house prices and claimed he and his wife had been unable to sleep due to noise from the site.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's Gazette.
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South west
