ELEVEN English Romany gipsy families left their home in a Worcestershire village in despair yesterday, with nowhere to go.

They were forced to leave Eckington, near Pershore, after a High Court judgement ruled they could not stay.

And while there were sighs of relief from Wychavon District Council and from some residents the gipsies themselves were distraught.

They were afraid their children would not get the schooling they deserved or that the babies in the group - including one just a fortnight old - would not have proper medical attention.

One of the group likened the eviction to "going back to the days of Hitler".

"Some members of my family were gassed during the Second World War," said the man, who did not want to be named.

"Things have not come very far since and we are still treated the same way."

Hugh Broadway, one of the last people left on the site when the Worcester News visited yesterday afternoon, said they were now being forced to break the law.

"We will have to park on grass verges or anywhere we can find," he said. "We own this land and we have made this area our home. We are being treated like pigs and if it was any other minority group people wouldn't stand for it."

The families moved onto the land during the May Bank Holiday last year. But problems began when they put up boundary fences and put in water and electricity without planning permission.

The families wanted to stay until the result of a planning appeal in September, but were ordered to leave yesterday.

Rosemary Birmingham has just given birth to her fifth child and is concerned about how the move will affect them.

"Baby Layton is just two weeks old and yet we won't have any access to health checks or anything because we will be on the road," she said. "There are 30 odd children on the site and 12 of those have been going to the local school. They are all up to date with their work, but all that effort will go to waste."

Janet Brown, headteacher at Defford First School, said it had been a privilege to teach the children.

"It has been a real joy to see their enthusiasm and to witness the outstanding progress they made," she said. "We hope the work they have done here will enable them to make further progress.

"We have appreciated the support the parents have given to the school, and we know that they have appreciated the support given to them by the whole school community."

Not everyone has been as supportive though. "We are delighted that it would appear that the gipsies have decided to vacate the site and that our actions have been supported by the High Court," said Ian Marshall, head of Wychavon District Council's legal and support services.

"Since this first happened in 2004 we have said that this is an unsuitable site for a gipsy encampment and we feel that our actions have been vindicated."

A police officer sent to oversee the eviction said there had been no problems.

He admitted, however, that now they were being forced to move on, the police would have to act if they parked their caravans illegally.

"We have always had good relations with the families here," said PC Toms. "Their being here has never been a police issue, but a council one, and we have always got on well.

"But if they do decide to park on lay-bys or anywhere unsuitable we will have to do our job and move them on. They understand that and accept it."

'WE'RE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER GIPSIES'

A GIPSY who can trace her family back 900 years has called for more understanding of her way of life.

Leanne Broadway believes if more people understood her traditions they wouldn't be so quick to criticise.

She was also keen to point out that English Romanies, which the Eckington group are, are different from other travelling people.

"We have always lived like this and my family has done so for more than nine centuries," she said.

"Asking us to live in a house is like asking homeowners to live in a caravan - it is just not us.

"But that doesn't mean we are not law-abiding citizens - we have paid council tax since we got here and have kept our land spotless. If people took the effort to understand our way of life they may change their minds about us."

What do you think? Tell us your views by e-mailing: letters@thisisworcester.co.uk or write to: Worcester News, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JX.