It’s the quaint market town which attracts millions of tourists every year thanks to its iconic designer outlet filled with discounted luxury clothes.
But this week, well-to-do residents in Bicester, Oxfordshire, are grappling with an invasion of unwelcome visitors who have made themselves at home just a stone’s throw away from their middle class shopping haven.
Just a mile away from Bicester Village, which attracts 7.3 million shoppers from far and wide each year, a large group of travellers have illegally pitched up th on an enormous football pitch.
Just a mile away from Bicester Village, which attracts 7.3 million shoppers from far and wide each year, a large group of travellers have pitched up their caravans on an enormous football pitch.
Locals whose homes back onto the sprawling playing fields are now looking out to an army of caravans and vans, children racing across the pitch on quad bikes and empty beer bottles strewn across the turf.
They say they are too afraid to walk their dogs across the fields, where ‘human excrement’ is allegedly left behind and bonfires are started.
Nearly 20 vehicles have pitched up both on and around the perimeter of Kea Field, despite Bicester Town Council last week installing a new gate and mounds of dirt to prevent access.
It comes amid a wave of groups of travellers parking up in beauty spots and car parks around the country.
Just last week, a group of travellers ‘ran riot’ at a Tesco superstore in West Sussex, harassing shoppers and stealing food.
Meanwhile, there appears to be no end to the scourge of caravans in a popular Birmingham park, where travellers continue to return despite an apparent council crackdown.
Then over the weekend, some 50 travellers wreaked havoc in a popular Surrey village known as ‘Britain’s Beverly Hills’ – stealing alcohol from a local pub and pouring it over the floor in shocking footage obtained by .
In the latest incident across Britain, another group of travellers have taken over a football pitch in Bicester.
It comes less than two years after travellers were served an eviction notice for setting up an encampment on the same pitches.
When visited the site on Tuesday, locals’ blinds remain closed and windows locked on the houses overlooking Kea Fields, with residents too afraid to walk their dogs across the park.
It is a regular occurrence. Locals are now used to caravans, vans, swanky cars and sometimes even horses turning up on the green space.
Quad bikes zoom around the usually tidy green space and bonfires burn while glass beer bottles and piles of rubbish are strewn across the floor.
Up to four times a year, residents will wake up to this familiar scene – usually in the Easter, May or summer school holidays.
Widower Susan Cowley, 70, lives opposite the field just steps away from where a few of the caravans have parked up.
Over the years the retired pensioner has had to put up with the smell of bonfires – and on worse occasions human excrement – wafting through her house.
She told : ‘It is awful. They have the generators on all night and they have little dogs that yap all night as soon as anyone coming back from a late shift walks by.
‘They yap, yap, yap all night long and they are kept outside whatever the weather.
‘They have also been thieving in the local shops. People have been distracting the staff while the kids steal.
‘We have nothing against anybody but every time they come it takes three whole days to get that field cleaned up.
‘So in the end the council pays more money to put something up to stop them getting in. It does not make sense.’
Mrs Cowley added that last year some of the individuals were defecating in the middle of the field which is often used for weekly kids football tournaments.
‘It stunk, you could smell it in the house,’ she said. ‘It is okay if you want to come and park there but why create so much chaos? Last year they set a fire in the middle of the field.
‘I don’t understand the council. Our council tax has just gone up but they are wasting money each year by not finding a way to stop this.’
Many are frustrated with the local councils for not doing enough to stop the persistent problem. understands Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for traveller encampments and Bicester Town Council owns the land.
Less than 24 hours before the latest group of travellers arrived, a mound of soil outside the community centre had been created to supposedly prevent any unwanted vehicles accessing the field.
But, according to some locals, the council forgot to lock the padlock on the gate, meaning the group were allowed to break their way in with ease. Others claim they broke the padlock off to open the barrier, causing ‘criminal damage’.
David Moore, who has lived in the area for five years, added: ‘They are a pain in the a*** to be frank.
‘Apparently the council had tried to stop them coming in but it seems the gate was not locked. They might have broken the lock but either way they got in and they will continue to.
‘It is a regular occurrence, it happens every Easter time and as soon as the football season finishes they tend to turn up for a while.
‘They are only allowed to stay for a certain period of time but they will be back – they always do.
‘The shops get robbed, the Morrisons, the Tescos. They don’t affect me but we tell our daughter walking the dog not to go in there because they can be dangerous people.
‘The annoying thing is that it never gets stopped.’
For families whose children are currently on Easter Holidays having no access to the field for children’s football games or to have a run around is also a problem.
Mother-of-two Claire Tanner said: ‘It is our dog walking field and our field for the whole community. We have football matches there every weekend without fail. So I don’t know what they will do this week.
‘Our daughters we usually let them walk the dog to the park but I don’t want them to do that at the moment.
‘We are not trying to be judgmental but it comes from the experiences we have had every few years.
‘They light fires, leave toilet waste behind, the rubbish is a nightmare. It is unbelievable and the council has to come along and clear it all up. It is just not nice.
‘They just have quite an obvious presence when they are here, which is pretty much every spring and summer school holiday.’
Mrs Tanner added: ‘Apparently my neighbour called the police, but they said they had more important things to do. And I completely believe that.’
Avarish, who only wanted to use his first name, added: ‘It is annoying. They find an opportunity at least every six months to come. Whenever there is a school holiday they feel as though they can come and take over the field.
‘It is frustrating because at night you cannot sleep, with the generators and the dogs. And I feel sorry for the dogs because they are not living in the best conditions.
‘And for all the people wanting to walk their own dogs it is frustrating because they can’t. The council have tried to shut off the entrances but they will still find a way. The police do come but at very late stages.’
David, who has lived in the area for a number of years said: ‘Over the last three or four years they come at least twice a year.
‘It is not pleasant. They have been pretty good this time but last year they were going round doing the odd jobs leaving their mess everywhere.
‘They built a bonfire in the middle of the goalpost last year. It is a bit of a nightmare.
‘And as a taxpayer we are paying to clear it all up. It is frustrating. The council built that embankment at the end of last week but the day after they were finished they were there.
‘They chopped off the lock and just drove in. If they put concrete blocks down they would never get a caravan through it.’
Pensioner Margaret, who only wanted to be known by her first name, said: ‘I don’t mind them being here but it is the mess they make.
‘Last year they left behind barbeques, toys, everything. One group left their rubbish by the bins and council took it away but last year they didn’t care and just left it everywhere. They just don’t clean up their mess. They just dump it.
‘I won’t go in the field now because I am worried about them setting my dog off. This year they are all small dogs but still I won’t bother. I just do not want to get involved.’
Others are less affected by the situation and do not have a problem with those on the field at the moment.
Jane Rushby, who has lived in the area for 49 years, said: ‘They come regularly but I have never had any problems with them.
‘The only thing is they leave a lot of rubbish around. But noise we have nothing and we’ve never had anything taken out of our garden. We have never had any problems in that way.’
Nancy Ward added: ‘I do feel quite sorry for them because they are moved away every few days. Where are they meant to go?
‘They don’t cause any problems. The children are just there playing in the field. They leave rubbish around but that’s all. They are moved away, all the little children and the doggies, so I just feel sorry for them.’
The pitch is primarily used by Kea FC and Bicester Hallions for football matches but has been transformed into a makeshift traveller site.
Thames Valley Police officers attended the site on Sunday but no arrests were made.
A spokesman for the force told : ‘Thames Valley Police was made aware of an unauthorised encampment on Kea Fields on Sunday (13/4).
‘Officers attended and no arrests have been made. Land owners notice paperwork has been served by Oxfordshire County Council.’
Bicester Town Council, who installed the gate and the mounds of dirt, has been contacted for comment.
Other parts of the country are also dealing with an influx of caravans during the Easter period.
A football club in Hereford was left devastated after discovering thousands of pounds of damage after their pitches were taken over by travellers.
Sharing a photo of the damage, they wrote on Monday night: ‘We’re pleased to report that most of the travellers have left our field at Belmont Abbey. We’re now awaiting the removal of the final two caravans, after which the field should be clear.
‘Sadly, the damage left behind is extensive and heartbreaking, with thousands of pounds’ worth of equipment to replace and rubbish and mess to clean up.
‘This includes broken and stolen goalposts, paint thrown across our clubhouse and containers, smashed glass tables, sharp metal and other objects scattered everywhere, tyre marks on the grass, and rubbish strewn throughout.
‘This is particularly tough for our young members and our dedicated volunteers, who give their time and energy freely to maintain our pitches and keep football thriving here.’
Elsewhere, travellers have returned to a popular Birmingham park just a week after they left.
A group of around 16 caravans pulled onto Swanshurst Park, on the border of Moseley and Billesley, on Sunday.
Around a dozen caravans and vehicles remained on the green space on Tuesday morning.
On Monday afternoon and again on Tuesday morning a variety of caravans and cars were parked on a verge inside the park.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said the authority would ‘take steps to recover land’ when unauthorised encampments were set up.
A nearby resident said there were ’16 caravans and at least one horse plus vehicles’ on the green on Sunday night.
They said a clean-up had taken place last week after a group of travellers departed.
The latest incidents come just days after obtained footage of travellers taking over a village pub in Surrey on Saturday.
One bearded man was seen reaching over and repeatedly grabbing a bottle from behind the bar as staff struggled to contend with the rowdy group. He appeared to get into a heated conversation with one staff member as he refuses to let go of the drink.
The pub employee managed to wrestle it back only for the man to make another attempt at grabbing the liquor before the bartender moves the bottles from out of his reach.
Things later turned ugly when another man refuses to hand back a bottle – only to then pour the alcohol over the floor.
A frustrated bar employee tells him to ‘get out of the f***ing bar’. The man then drops the bottle on the floor causing the glass to shatter.
The clearly exasperated worker then declares: ‘There is no more service. The bar is closed.’
He is later seen apologising to customers as he explains he ‘needs to clean up this mess’.
The chaos started after around 100 horse carts caused ‘mayhem’ in leafy Surrey on Saturday as they drove through red lights and crashed into cars.
They were seen speeding through towns and villages causing motorists to swerve out of the way and screech to a halt.
Police on Saturday night blanketed the whole of Elmbridge with a dispersal order, giving officers the power to remove groups of two or more people from the area.
The affluent area is known as Britain’s Beverly Hills and has been called home by the likes of Premier League stars John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.