Traveller family of 132 still in car park for 'Christmas party' despite promising to leave
A HUGE family of 132 travellers are still camping out in a Cambridge car park a week after promising to move on.
Travellers set up camp on a Cambridge car par and are still there
The group squeezed 50 caravans onto the site in Cowley Road, next to the prestigious St John's Innovation Park owned by Cambridge University, so they could spend Christmas together.
They took over the site on December 19 and hung up decorations and vowed to leave on Boxing Day. However, photos reveal they are still there today.
A local business owner, who asked not to be named, said: "I had heard they would be moving on Boxing Day but there are no signs of them going."
The travellers had agreed to leave the site by Boxing Day
It's only once a year everyone gets together like this
The travellers had previously parked at Cambridge North station car park but were given an eviction notice and police and bailiffs supervised their departure.
After their arrival before Christmas, traveller Tom “Big Doddie” Stokes told the Cambridge Evening News: "It's only once a year everyone gets together like this.
"There's no place for all these caravans to go anywhere.
The travellers had already been evicted from a car park in Cambridge
"The way we look at it, it's out of town, it's not in use. We're not going to cause any hassle for anybody.
"They're going to be on the road for Christmas if the police want us to leave.
"All we want is Christmas. It gets to Boxing Day, we shift.
The travellers squeezd 50 caravans on to the car park so they could spend Christmas together
“It's to get everyone together, for all the older people."
St John's Innovation Park was completed in 1987.
It was the first innovation centre in Europe to focus on supporting knowledge-based businesses.