Travellers illegally descend on London suburb with rows of caravans

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER 00:32 20 Oct 2026, updated 00:32 20 Oct 2026

A band of travellers has taken over a set of football pitches in a leafy north London suburb, illegally pitching at least 12 caravans a stone’s throw from multi-million-pound homes.

Drone footage shows the encampment at Muswell Hill playing fields, close to the local nature reserve of Coldfall Wood.

Cars with both British and Irish number plates appear to be parked up alongside the caravans and driving across the pitches with seeming impunity.

Some of the grass is scorched – bearing the hallmarks of a makeshift fire – and litter has been readily discarded at the edge of the woods.

The arrival is unlikely to be a shock to the residents of Muswell Hill, where detached homes have fetched an average of £1.5million over the last 12 months because the travellers are regular visitors.

Locals first reported seeing the camp last Thursday. Three days ago, one said on social media they saw the arrival of a ‘big orange gas tank’ at the site.

The neighbourhood is home to celebrities like James McAvoy, Peter Capaldi, John Savident and former MasterChef host John Torode.

But it is also regularly home to travellers who help themselves to what are meant to be public playing fields.

A group arrived with 15 caravans and a number of horses in August last year, and were seen riding horse-drawn carts along the pavements.

Travellers appeared to have meddled with the locks to access the land but were eventually moved on amidst a local outcry.

Residents had accused the new arrivals of engaging in ‘antagonising’ behaviour at the time.

Retired teacher Deb Garcha told the Mail they were often ‘inconsiderate’, adding: ‘If you want to come for a few days all I ask is be considerate to all of us and take your rubbish.’

However, those breaching the rules have insisted they are doing it because of the nationwide glut of official sites, and the ‘stigma’ nomadic residents in the traveller and gypsy communities face staying at the road side.

In June 2018, Muswell Hill residents contended with a smaller gathering of caravans at the nearby Albert Road Recreational Ground. The camp was just yards from a children’s playground.

Police served them with an eviction notice, and they were expected to leave 48 hours afterwards, Haringey Council said at the time.

The site is under the control of the local borough council, Haringey, and is thought to be aware of the illegal encampment.

The Mail has contacted Haringey Borough Council for comment.

The arrivals at Muswell Hill are among the latest in a series of Traveller incidents across the UK.

Last week, the Mail revealed that a traveller camp that had been quietly built up in a Buckinghamshire village was told to pack up and leave.

Planners had recommended the half-built site be granted retrospective permission due to a ‘shortfall in the supply of gypsy and traveller pitches in Buckinghamshire’.

But locals had complained that it would encourage more illegal sites to pop up around the county and raised concerns they had been subjected to threats and intimidation from people living at the camp.

Councillors denied the application last Tuesday and demanded the illegal site be shut down immediately.

In September, another group of travellers was ordered to leave an illegal site opposite Britain’s biggest nuclear weapons factory – Atomic Weapons Establishment’s Aldermaston site in Berkshire.

They had illegally built 13 static homes there in 2025.

The same month, travellers invaded a quaint village in ‘military style’ as they built an illegal camp in just 48 hours in Hillam, North Yorkshire.

The group waited until 4.45pm on a Friday – just as the council offices were closing – before a convoy of lorries and septic tanks rolled into the village, and they worked overnight to complete the job.

Australian MP remains fighting for her life after ‘losing a leg’ in car attack outside her office,…

Great British Bake Off contestant appears in court ‘after he was found with two category A child…

Mayhem in Europe as streets are ablaze in France and luxury stores looted while Macron calls for…

Viral image of elderly couple stripped and surrounded by rioters in France was ‘made or edited with…

Labour’s pledge to tackle ‘headphone dodgers’ on buses falls apart as No10 says fellow passengers…

Why did the Sussexes allow a ‘minute-by-minute’ itinerary of their Nottingham tour to go online?…

‘Islamist bomb threats from outside the UK’ close schools across Scotland and Northern Ireland

The parents of little Archie, five, found dead after he and his siblings were allegedly duct-taped…

Suicidal British woman who flew to America to be murdered by a man she met in a fetish chatroom was…

Doomsday cult leader who told parents to starve their children is found guilty of 191 murders

Notorious Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris is laid to rest at the same crematorium as his gangland rival…

Federal MP Helen Haines fighting for life after being hit by a car outside her office – as shaken…

Labour is now plotting Budget raid on family businesses… after the farm tax fiasco

The £318million question: If the National Lottery’s Powerball jackpot is won by a Briton it would…

Aussie grandmother fighting for life after freak accident while on holiday in Bali as family…

Rioters are crushed by falling panes of glass while trying to loot shops and another has his hand…

Travellers illegally descend on London suburb with rows of caravansComments are subject to our House rules and TermsNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}

No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first.

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{#replies.comments}}{{^isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{#isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{/replies.comments}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{^replies.totalCount}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{/isComment}}The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of MailOnline. MailOnline does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content.Terms|Privacy|FeedbackOldest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}