A traveller has been sleeping in his van after being evicted from his land because he does not have permission to live there.

James Golby and his wife and children were among seven families forced to leave their mobile homes in Rainham after enforcement officers began taking down the site.

Excavators at the site in Lower Rainham Road, Rainham

The families bought the land in 2020 but do not have planning permission to live there.

The council had already issued an enforcement notice in 2017, against the previous occupiers, but the travellers say there were not made aware of the notice before they purchased the plots.

James, 38, has had to separate from his wife and five children – they are staying with Tracey's mum, while he sleeps in his van "anywhere I can".

He said: "Everyone is very upset and we have no idea what to do now. "The council are ignoring us and not taking into account we have got young children who have lost their homes."

Mr Golby went online to thank people for their support and also thanked people who have re-homed their animals. Mobile homes, shed, fences and other items have been removed from the site.

The council say developments on the land, which breach the notice, are being removed and action is being taken to ensure the enforcement notice is adhered to.

Excavators have been there for several days and there was smoke billowing from a bonfire on Tuesday as work continued to clear the site.

The travellers say they applied for planning permission when they bought the land but the application wasn't accepted by Medway Council.

After the purchase, they discovered there was the previous enforcement notice issued in 2017, preventing anyone from living there. But they say they knew nothing about it until months after moving in.

On the morning of the eviction, Mr Golby said: "We had women and children crying. We were woken up at 7am. We had no notice, they just arrived and started smashing fences up. My four-year-old was hiding under her pillow.

"We were trying to get the council to accept the (planning) application. We thought we had more time."

Mr Golby said he and some of the other families want to stay in the Medway area because their children go to local schools.

One traveller, who did not want to be named, said: "When we bought the land, nothing came up on the land searches that there was an enforcement notice. There is nothing on the land registry.

"My son is in Year 1 at Riverside school, he is settled there."

Mr Golby added: "Our planning agent and solicitor are now trying to get it to court.

"We haven't been offered any housing or anywhere to go. People are staying with friends or relatives, sleeping on sofas.

"There is only one traveller site in Medway, at Cuxton. We can't live at the side of the road any more, that way of life has gone.

"We were just seven traveller families living there - surely that's better than having 70 flats or houses built on the land. It seems like racism to me."

The travellers say they have been given a lot of local support. A petition was set up for them, gaining more than 500 signatures.

But some people nearby said they were relieved they had gone.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "They never gave us any trouble but what I don't like is that they get away with not paying for things that we have to.

"If there had been a consultation on a planning application, I probably would have objected to them living there."

Another resident, who also did not want to be named. said: "I do feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for the children that have had to leave their homes.

"The council should provide them with a permanent place to go."

She added: "They didn't cause me any problems."

Another woman said she was relieved about the eviction because she was worried the site would affect the value of her home.

There were seven plots of land at the site, each individually owned, with static caravans and wooden 'day houses' as well as gardens and play areas for children, horses stables and a paddock.

A spokesman for Medway Council said last week: "Unfortunately, the occupants do not have planning permission to live on this site. We served an enforcement notice in 2017 which prevented residential occupation of this agricultural field.

"The council should provide them with a permanent place to go..."

“The occupants moved onto the site after the enforcement notice came into effect. We have provided them with copies of the enforcement notice and, over the last 12 months, have advised them of the consequences of occupying the site with the notice in effect.

"Several letters were hand delivered to the occupants warning them that enforcement action would be taken if they didn’t comply with the notice.”

This week the council said they are "continuing to ensure that the enforcement notice is adhered to and that the developments on the land, which breach the notice, are removed”.