I lost my false teeth in fight to keep out traveller families
A FEARLESS pensioner had her false teeth knocked out when she was “thrown to the floor by travellers” as she single-handedly battled to stop them entering a popular nature reserve.
Sarah Freeman, 73, wrapped herself around the gate at Hilly Fields in Colchester, Essex, as the group tried to drive seven caravans on to the site.
Miss Freeman, who is blind in one eye and walks with a stick, said she was left badly bruised when several men pushed her over and tried to prise her fingers from the lock.
But she stood her ground, forcing them to flee when the police arrived last Thursday.
She said yesterday: “I wrapped myself around the barrier. Three of them were trying to pull me off and my teeth came out. I just thought how embarrassing.
“They were trying to get the lock open but I wouldn’t let them.
“It usually takes me a long time to get up when I’m on the floor, but in this instance, I jumped back up and continued to cling onto the gate.
“They were calling me all sorts of rude names but it did not bother me. I wasn’t scared when it was happening. It was only when it was all over that I was just shaking.”
Miss Freeman, who used to work for the Royal Mail, was walking her two Jack Russell dogs, Alfie and Biscuit, when she saw the caravans pull up and several men allegedly tried to force open the gate.
She decided to stop them after a break-in last year devastated the beauty spot. She said: “I’ve no objection to travellers but when they were here last year there were fires lit, rubbish dumped and human excrement left behind. But you don’t expect anyone to manhandle a 73-year-old woman to break in.”
The men had told her they had “every right to be here”. But Miss Freeman said: “I told them to ‘show it to me in writing’ – that’s when it got a bit heated.” She clung on to the gate for half an hour before police arrived and the travellers left.
Several dog walkers took photos of the clash but did not step in. Miss Freeman said: “People were just watching and urging me on. After a while the police turned up and the caravans left. My family were cross that I had intervened.” James Peters, 46, who lives nearby, said: “If it hadn’t been for that lady, that whole field would be full of travellers. They were pushing her and shoving her and they threw her to the ground. It was outrageous.”
No police action was taken following the incident.