A Welsh Romani Gypsy family living on the edge of Cardiff allege they are victims of vile racist abuse.
Danielle McCann, who lives with her five children on a yard in Peterstone Wentlooge, claims her family have had racial slurs shouted at them, rubbish dumped on the lane leading to their site, their stables set on fire, their horses dragged through barbed wire fencing, and their trailer windows smashed among other incidents.
A recent incident at the end of February saw threatening messages allegedly attached to their gates, which called them "dirty Gypsy scum" and demanded that they "leave".
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The 34-year-old explained that her family have been trying to secure planning permission for a caravan and trailers on the site for 12 years, as their other home, a site for Gypsies in Rover Way in Cardiff, is a "health hazard".
But they claim this had been consistently refused by Newport Council because there is a flood risk to the area – even though the family claim applications by non-Gypsies in the area for similar installations had been given permission.
The council said that "decisions are made in line with agreed and published policies and no discrimination is made based on an applicant’s background or beliefs".
As a result, the family have been living "on and off" on the land in Peterstone Wentlooge but claim they have faced increasing discrimination since the pandemic.
On February 28 while Danielle was out shopping a neighbour messaged her to say two offensive signs had been affixed to the gates to the yard, which said: "P*key scum! Get out of our village. Your (sic) not welcome!" and "Dirty Gypsy Scum. You will never be welcome!! Leave!!!!"
"My father-in-law doesn't know how to read and write and he had to ask my 12-year-old and 13-year-old to read it out to him," she said. "They're being taught in school about racism and this is happening to them."
The signs come amid other unsettling incidents which Danielle explained came to a head while they were living in Peterstone Wentlooge more consistently during the pandemic. Newport Council were aware of their stay and supplied them with toilets and showers.
" We were living there over Covid," she said. "There was a high volume of fly-tipping in front of the gates of the yard. My partner put a gate halfway down the lane to stop people from being able to drive down the lane to fly-tip."
Her father in law, Peter McCann, said he got a call from Newport Council's environmental health department for littering in the lane but he insisted this was a set-up.
Danielle explained: "We leave our rubbish at the end of the lane so the bin men can come and collect it.
"[Peter] got a call from environmental health saying that rubbish with his name on it was found in the lane – it was his medication packets."
She alleged that the perpetrators deliberately scattered their rubbish over the lane to make it seem like they had done it themselves before calling the council to report it.
Danielle added that since the gate went up to stop this the "racism has got really bad".
She recalled that when the family attended the funeral of fellow traveller Mike O'Brian in Splott on February 10 they returned to find the windows of their main trailer had been smashed.
Peter also said drones are flown over their yard "twice a week" and that the perpetrators entered the yard when they weren't there, let their horses and dogs loose, and dragged the horses through a barbed-wire fence.
Just last Wednesday, March 2, he claimed someone set their stable on fire, which was full of their animals.
"Somebody has to sleep in the yard [every night] now," he said. "Whatever is in these stables is going to be burnt alive."
He continued: "It's persecution and it makes you feel like you just want to get out of this world."
Danielle said she has had verbal abuse hurled at her as she drives to the yard with her young children.
"I can never see them when they're shouting at me – they must be shouting through a window," she said.
"How do you explain to a child that it’s okay for people to shout through windows 'Gypsy scum, P*keys, get out'?
"I don't feel safe going down there to see our horses. I always make sure to take another family member with me."
She continued: "I don’t see why they’re so against us, just a small family, living there.
"We’ve never given anybody any hassle – we keep ourselves to ourselves.
"It's targeted racism because we’re Welsh Romani Gypsies – they’ve already made their minds up and just judged us without even trying. They're not even trying to get to know us or talk to us."
The family explained they have been living "on and off" on the site for about a decade and have been trying to get planning permission to install a caravan and trailers.
Asked why they are so keen to leave the Rover Way site, Peter said: "Everyone's living on top of each other on Rover Way. There are 65 families on there – nine people share one toilet, one bath. If a fire goes up there they're all gone."
He believes the Rover Way site is a health hazard for his grandchildren with its proximity to the steelworks and moving vehicles – particularly Danielle's oldest daughter, who has health problems.
"I'm only trying for that child, before I die, to have a place to live," said Peter. "It's not like we want to turn it into Rover Way or a caravan site. It's just so my little grandchildren can breathe and play. On Rover Way they're playing in the road by the cars. We haven't got a swing, we haven't got a park – we've got nothing."
Peter said he had submitted four planning applications for the yard in Peterstone Wentlooge in the last decade but Newport Council had consistently refused to grant him permission because the area has a flood risk.
But the family believe this refusal is racially motivated as they claim non-Gypsies in the area have been granted planning permission for similar developments such as a static caravan, shed, or septic tank.
They point out, for example, that an application was being considered for land to the east of Bramden House in Peterstone Wentlooge to install, among other things, a timber shed with a toilet and sewage treatment plant.
Peter said he had also been trying to apply for a septic tank but his applications had been flatly refused by the council on the basis of the flood risk – even though the flood risk would also apply to the land east of Bramden House.
He said he "can't understand" why his applications had been refused.
"Through the pandemic [the council] let [my family] live here for two years. That's why they provided toilets and water – so it wasn't a flood risk then," he said.
"This is the only home they've got. They're living on top of other people on Rover Way.
"We've never done anything in 12 years. We don't steal, we don't vandalise anything. We just want to be left alone. All we want to do is live with our animals."
Hendry Price, another relative of Danielle, pointed out: "[The non-Gypsies] have got planning permission where they've also got somewhere else to live but this family does not."
In 2010, when the family first moved onto the site it was deemed an unauthorised development and an enforcement notice was issued.
This was appealed but dismissed in May 2011 on the grounds it was a "highly vulnerable development which is not justified within this C1 flood zone". It was also considered an " inappropriate development in the greenbelt" that "a dversely affects the rural character and appearance of the [Gwent] Levels".
The family were given 12 months to remove their caravans and demolish a building and 14 months to remove the hardstanding and tipped soil from the site and to reseed.
Direct action was taken on the site in 2012 to ensure compliance with the enforcement notice. However council documents say in the last few years further unauthorised development has occurred on the site and the family have attempted to retrospectively apply for planning permission.
The authority says it has given these applications "due consideration" but due to this pre-existing enforcement notice Newport Council has refused to determine them.
The documents do say, however, that planning permission was granted for the construction of a stable block on the site back in May 2009 as this was deemed acceptable within the countryside setting.
The owner of a farm next door to Peter's yard, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the discrimination the family had faced is "disgusting".
"We're not sure where it's coming from – we can only speculate. But it's been taken too far now," the owner said.
"The first time they mentioned it to us was two to three months ago and it's been consistent from there – it's escalated from there."
Gwent Police and Newport City Council said in a joint statement: "Hate crime is not acceptable and everyone has the right to feel safe. Reports of hate crime within any community are taken incredibly seriously by Newport City Council and we work closely with our colleagues in the police to address such issues.
"In this particular case a joint meeting with the complainants, council, police, and a specialist advocacy service was considered the best approach to investigate the issues relating to hate crime and safety and to determine a positive resolution. This was agreed to by all parties and scheduled.
"The meeting was attended by all parties however press attendance was not discussed with or agreed to by the council or police. Every effort was made to continue the meeting in an appropriate way but without success.
"The formal investigation into the complaints continues and the council and police are seeking a further meeting as soon as possible to ensure a timely and constructive outcome."
A Gwent Police spokesman said: "When someone is targeted because of hostility or prejudice towards who they are or, a characteristic they have a thorough investigation will take place.
"We work closely with victims of hate crimes and have specialist officers who have received additional training in supporting victims."
A Newport council spokesman added: "Regarding issues raised relating to planning the council operates in an open and transparent manner with applications and decisions available to view publicly.
"Decisions are made in line with agreed and published policies and no discrimination is made based on an applicant’s background or beliefs. There is also a formal appeal process in place should an applicant be unhappy about any decisions made."
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