Residents of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, mobilised in their hundreds over the August bank holiday weekend to stop a group of travellers from occupying and developing a stretch of protected greenland used as a wildlife habitat and floodplain. The land grab, which began with diggers arriving on Friday evening and around 50 workmen flattening the site by Saturday morning, was halted within 48 hours after the local council secured a High Court injunction, marking a rare and swift victory for a community against this kind of illegal occupation.

The incident followed a pattern seen elsewhere, with groups exploiting bank holidays when council enforcement teams are typically unavailable, often intending to apply for retrospective planning permission once works are already underway. Workers used heavy machinery to clear grass, fell trees, erect fencing and lay drainage pipes on the site off Sheering Mill Lane, home to muntjac deer, prompting fears among locals about future flood risk. Residents were alerted via WhatsApp and Facebook, and the council issued a Temporary Stop Notice by 10.45am on Saturday before obtaining an out-of-hours judge to grant the injunction. A similar unauthorised occupation also took place on privately owned land near Rochford, Essex, over the same weekend.