A furious Bristol van dweller has interrupted a BBC report and accused locals of a ‘hate crime‘ as they called for action against people camped near Clifton Down.
The man identified as Danny asked campaigners, ‘What’s it got to do with you?’, before airing his grievances about the alleged treatment by neighbours.
The angry clash comes amid mounting tensions in the city over gatherings of people living in vehicles, especially alongside central green spaces.
Officially, the number of people living in vehicles in Bristol has risen by 400 per cent in the last five years, with 680 caravans and camper vans now pitched up on residential roads – but some locals say the true figure is double that.
A group of local residents were being filmed on one of Bristol’s most popular green spaces, raising concerns about local vehicle encampments and urging that Danny and others move – with one heard saying: ‘You shouldn’t be on the Downs.’
Danny is seen in footage shared online turning around and asking, ‘What’s it got to do with you?’
After being criticised for his ‘attitude’, he then responds by insisting: ‘No, it’s called standing up for rights.’
Danny, who lives in a converted horsebox, told the BBC of the local campaigners against caravan dwellers: ‘The stuff they’re posting is absolutely ludicrous – in fact, it’s bordering on hate crime.’
A furious Bristol van dweller identified as Danny has interrupted a BBC report to accuse locals of a ‘hate crime ‘ as they called for action against people setting up camp near Clifton Down
He asked, ‘What’s it got to do with you?’, as local residents expressed their frustrations
Neighbourhood complaints have been rising about caravans parked near Clifton Downs
He was said to have been living beside the Downs ‘on and off for years’.
Danny told the corporation: ‘It’s not like we’ve just sprung up overnight – and there is no answer to it until you answer the housing problem.’
Residents calling for action have launched a new group called Protect The Downs.
One man told the BBC: ‘Some of the van dwellers – I’m not saying all – empty their cess into the drains, into people’s gardens.’
And a local woman added: ‘I have a great deal of sympathy for people who are homeless, I really do – but there are a lot of people up here who are not.’
Many of the occupants of vans across areas on England’s South Coast are said spend their summers working at music festival sites across Britain, living ‘under the radar’.
After rising complaints from disgruntled residents, Bristol City Council last November installed large planters along one of the city’s worst impacted roads.
But many motor homes, caravans and converted vans remain across the city’s streets – and the council is now considering whether to set up a permanent site for them.
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Danny (pictured) is said to have been living beside the Downs ‘on and off for years’
He told the BBC: ‘It’s not like we’ve just sprung up overnight – and there is no answer to it until you answer the housing problem’
Tension has been escalating between locals and the caravan crowd who have set up camp around one of Bristol’s most popular parks.
A two-berth caravan parked in Saville Road went up like a fireball on February 13, melting the tarmac it stood on.
Locals living in what is one of the city’s most sought-after areas blamed a faulty gas cylinder attached to the caravan – yet a stalwart of the caravan community there insisted that month: ‘It was arson, it’s lucky no one was killed.
‘I have an axe and a baseball bat in my van and I’m not afraid to use it on anyone lurking late at night.
‘I’m not the only one who is afraid that we could be burned out of our homes.
‘If one of the houses around here got burned down you wouldn’t hear the end of it but because it’s a caravan no one cares.’
Similar fears have been shared with MailOnline not only in Bristol but elsewhere, including near Glastonbury – famous for its music festival – in neighbouring Somerset.
While Glastonbury’s population of 7,000 is smaller than Bristol’s 450,000, it has a much higher proportion of people living in vehicles – 150, or 0.22 per cent of the population, compared to the bigger city’s 0.14 per cent.
He made his points after interrupting a broadcast report being carried out by the BBC
Locals opposed to caravan encampments have formed a new group called Protect The Downs
Bristol City Council has suggested it would only consider taking legal action to move vehicle dwellers on if they are deemed to have a ‘high impact’ on the community, such as causing anti-social behaviour or not disposing of waste properly.
Since 2018, the council has only obtained six injunctions for encampments in the city.
Councillors there did agree in March to consider the suggestion of one allocated permanent area for their city’s van dwellers.
There has also been the provision of free smoke alarms following the caravan fire earlier that month.
Bristol, deemed the most expensive place to rent outside London, has seen a rapid surge in the number of vehicle dwellers since 2020.
The rise has been linked to fewer jobs and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by a cost-of-living crisis and soaring rent prices in Bristol now reaching an average £1,756 per month.
Council officers have recommended creating more so-called ‘meanwhile’ spaces where vehicle dwellers can stay with the help of facilities such as running water and work with authorities to find permanent homes.
Bristol City Council says it has received in excess of 1,500 complaints and reports relating to encampments.
Bristol City Council says about 800 people are thought to be living in 650 vehicles
Officially, the number of people living in vehicles in Bristol has risen by 400 per cent in the last five years – but locals say the true figure is double official estimates
These have related to littering, looking unsightly, blocked pavements, feeling threatened and anti-social behaviour.
But it has found some reports include hate speech and ‘othering’, said to contribute to prejudice against vehicle dwelling communities.
In 2023, Bristol City Council’s Public Health Department carried out a Health Needs Analysis of people living in vehicles in the city.
This highlighted respiratory health conditions, such as asthma, linked to living in cold and damp conditions.
Some services send notifications in the post, such as cancer screening.
But people living in vehicles often lack a postal address and risk missing out on check-ups.