Police warning to land-owner over BNP rally

Whoops, here comes trouble - the BNP's Red, White and Blue is back

Members of the British National Party bringing caravans to the controversial Red, White and Blue festival in Denby in August could face arrest.

Amber Valley Borough Council has written to organiser Alan Warner, who has hosted the event on his land for the past two years, warning him that he risks police intervention by allowing too many caravanners to park on his land during the festival without a licence. Land-owners need a caravan site licence to use their land as a temporary or permanent park for the vehicles and the council says that the excessive number of caravans at last year's festival exceeded the amount allowed without permission.

In a letter to Mr Warner sent earlier this month Amber Valley solicitor Paul Benski said: "Land may not be used as a caravan site, either permanently or temporarily, unless a site licence is held. To do otherwise would constitute a criminal offence. I must ask you to state in clear terms that anyone entering your land with a caravan is a trespasser who does so without your permission. Anyone who then does so is liable to arrest for public order offences."

Alan Warner, whose home was targeted by vandals spraying graffiti again last week, said: "I have told our party to break off all communication with the council. I think it is absolutely ridiculous - talking about coming on site and arresting people in caravans for trespassing. This is clearly victimisation. Other events in the area like the steam rally have many caravans on site with no problems. It looks to me like they have been scouring the legal books looking for something to get us on and this is all they have found. I will simply not allow them on site to do this."

A spokesman for Amber Valley Borough Council said: "Chief Executive Peter Carney is responding to representations from the Chief Constable and complaints after last year's event from residents about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues. He is asking the council to make an order prohibiting a trespassory assembly on the land for the event, following a request from the Chief Constable. This is aimed at preventing large numbers of protesters attending the event, and follows the order that was made last year.

"He is also asking the council to apply for an injunction to prevent caravans entering the site because of concerns that planning and caravan legislation will be breached. This is in the event that the landowners do not give an undertaking to comply with this legislation. This is not aimed at stopping the rally itself."

The proposals were to be discussed by the full council yesterday.

Derbyshire Times