People living in vans and caravans on the edge of a cemetery in East Bristol hope that a previously padlocked gate will remain open. The gate allows them easy access to water from a tap inside the cemetery and avoids them having to walk to a gate in the far corner of the cemetery, a task they say is particularly difficult for those with disabilities.
The cemetery gate by Rosemary Green currently stands open but was padlocked shut two weeks ago. The van-dweller community living on Greenbank View in Eastville claim the gate had been recently shut by the council after a resident complained but say that the majority of local residents support the gate being open.
Llama who moved onto the site after becoming homeless said that when the gate was closed it meant they had to walk a longer distance, carrying heavy water containers, a task she finds particularly difficult with her auto-immune condition. Llama told Bristol Live the gate had been open since April but was closed after the council received a complaint from a local resident.
