Travellers have been accused of causing “mayhem” in a posh part of Surrey over the weekend as horses were left on the side of the road while their owners went to the pub. Elmbridge saw up to 100 horse carts speeding down its roads on Saturday, getting in the way of other motorists and prompting police intervention, MailOnline reports.
The leafy borough is popular with famous footballers such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole – who have all lived there. Officers were given the power to remove groups of two or more and extra patrols were put in place as a pub was trashed with smashed bottles of spirits. A mother of two slammed the “lawless behaviour” after a horse crashed into her car, terrifying her children, while other travellers were seen “banging on the bonnets of cars” and urinating in the street.
A mother said a horse crashed into her car. (Image: WXCHARTS)
One local even said she was left trapped in her village as the surrounding roads were closed “due to the chaos”.
Another resident wrote in Facebook group: “If you are wondering why there is so much traffic around Sandown, it is due to the horse racing…. but NOT the conventional horse racing you might expect.
“There is 50 to 60 of these and it is causing mayhem. They are not stopping at red lights so traffic has come to a standstill… I saw two of them crashing into each other.”
A pub landlord added that his establishment was trashed after around 100 travellers showed up and started getting “rowdy”.
He told the outlet: “They were pulling bottles off the shelves and the manager had to close the pub to get them out. They came behind the bar and pulled some spirit bottles off the shelves and then poured them on the floor and smashed the bottles.
DON’T MISS:
Brits travelling to Europe warned of new scams targeting tourist confusion [LATEST]
Millions of British tourists face humiliation under new EU border system [EXCLUSIVE]
Travellers warned of Greece and Italy flight disruptions in run up to Easter [REPORT]
Travellers visited pubs, leaving their hoses on pavements. (Image: Facebook)
“It was quite frightening for the staff. We are not a town centre bar that is able to deal with that sort of behaviour. We are just a little village pub.”
“We had to shut because of the huge number in the area, it was the only way to deal with it. They had broken various bits so we had to clean up because it was a mess. The bar staff dealing with it were quite shaken.
“It was a huge number of people in the venue. They were blocking the roads and then were just jumping off and leaving their horses in the road or in someone’s driveway.
“They were zipping along on their mobile phones so whether the horses were under control or not…God knows. When you get such numbers of them it becomes chaos.”
Other pubs that were visited by travellers did not report any problems, such as the Watermans Arms in Hersham, the outlet reported.
Trending
Chief Superintendent Aimee Ramm, Northern Divisional Commander said: “Firstly, as the Divisional Commander for North Surrey, I would like to acknowledge the disruption and concern that the gathering of people using horses and traps on Saturday (12 April) caused to the local community.
“We were first made aware of around 50 people using horse and traps at a location in Esher at around 1.30pm. The group then moved on to other locations including Hampton Court, Bushy Park, Molesey, Hersham, Sunbury-on-Thames and Walton, and grew to around 150 people.
“In response, numerous officers were swiftly deployed to the scene and several roads were closed to restrict the movement of the group.
“Due to the large numbers involved, officers prioritised dealing with the immediate disorder, but I would like to stress that our enquiries into related reports of criminal behaviour are being thoroughly investigated as a matter of urgency.”
She urged anyone who witnessed an incident or has footage of one to contact the force using its live chat feature or online reporting tool.
