FOR many the saga of Dale Farm is a decent memory, but for those involved and residents living just a stone’s throw away, the chaotic scenes are still all to clear. 

The mass eviction of the site in October 2011 received coverage across the world following fierce battles between travellers and bailiffs. 

Following the dramatic scenes, piles of rubble were left on the land for years and the site has since become a flytipping hotspot. 

Credit: Toby Emes

Tony Ball, a county councillor who was leader of Basildon Council at the time of the eviction, led the charge against the illegal encampment and the “professional protestors” who helped fight off police. 

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He said: “Looking back on it, I wish it never happened, I never thought it would end up like it did.

“It was extremely stressful for everybody. Around 25 per cent of the council’s workforce were tasked on Dale Farm, it cost the public purse seven million pounds.

“It felt like nothing else was going on in the world at the time, the whole of the world’s media were there. We had hot drinks thrown at us from the scaffolding, and had torrents of abuse thrown our way.”

Gary Pearson, a senior journalist for the Echo at the time, added: “The day of the Dale Farm evictions was a day like no other I’ve experienced in the newsroom. I was news editor at the time and the police and council went in at the crack of dawn, the tensions were literally sky-high. 

“Scaffold defences, fires, the world’s eyes were on Dale Farm.

“Talking to our reporter Jon Austin at the scene, he described it as like nothing he’d ever experienced in his life before, it was as if a war was about to begin. 

“And in some ways one did. The clashes and turmoil over the next few days was immense. It’s something that’ll live long in the memory. I’ll never forget it.”

All involved have admitted the dramatic scenes were the last resort, but the out of control site could not be ignored any longer.

Mr Ball added: “It was relief when police took over, they had intelligence which said it wasn’t safe for just the bailiffs to lead it.

“We were defending the country’s planning laws and process. If we had turned a blind eye, it would have undermined the whole process.

“The way it ended was the last resort, we had exhausted our alternatives, there just wasn’t any other way. We considered compensation or moving them elsewhere, but they just weren’t an option.”