Residents of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who blocked trucks over a Bank Holiday weekend to stop travellers laying an illegal encampment on greenbelt land, say they are now living in fear of reprisals. Hundreds of locals camped out overnight to prevent vehicles carrying tarmac from entering a former wildlife site that had been torn up with heavy machinery, and the occupation only ended after the council secured a High Court injunction. Residents said they were verbally abused and called "racist" during the protest, and many are now too frightened to speak publicly even though the site has since been vacated.

Aerial photographs showed hardstanding, concrete surfacing and fencing had already been laid, along with two caravans, on what had been marshland home to muntjac deer and kingfishers. Locals fear the group behind the incursion has also bought an adjoining field and could target it next. The episode reflects a wider pattern of travellers moving onto sites over Bank Holiday weekends while council offices are shut, though in this case Sawbridgeworth's council swiftly obtained an out-of-hours injunction on the Saturday, and construction was eventually halted after officers issued notices and locals gathered at the site.