Traveller families living under one of London’s busiest roads have claimed they get abused by yob locals.
On the face of it, the Westway is a drab dual carriageway leapfrogging one of the most affluent areas of London.
But for a small group of people it has been home since 1976.
It houses around 20 Irish traveller families under the A40 near Latimer Road tube station in North Kensington.
Homes nearby can fetch up to £3.5 million and average around £900,000 but the shabby-looking Stable Way traveller site fits right in between.
The legal site is made up of small bungalows and caravans with a small access lane in between and is just around the corner from the huge Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush.
Despite the hurtling traffic on the other side of their fences, the children happily play alongside their families in what locals say feels like ‘another world’.
One traveller told : ‘We’re very happy here. We just want to be left alone.’
They added: ‘We don’t bother people and we don’t want people to bother us.
‘We’re just happy to ourselves.
‘We get some trouble. People throw items at us and think it’s funny to take the p***.
‘We don’t want that. We don’t want trouble. But it’s not good to annoy us.’
Another traveller, a father who has lived there for the last 20 years, said he loved the ‘freedom’ the area gave those living there.
He said: ‘It’s a joy to be here. Unless you’re a traveller you would not understand.
‘I could not live in a house. It would drive me insane. It’s not for me.
‘This is my life.
‘This has been home for our community for around 50 years and they’ll be travellers here for another 100.
‘Leave us in peace and all will be fine.
‘The noise is what it is. I could not sit here in total peace and you get used to it.
‘I sleep easy at night.’
Another traveller told : ‘We do our thing. This is our life. We are happy.
‘We do not bother anyone.’
The caravans and properties need constant hosing down as a result of pollution that builds because of the nearby traffic.
Pauline Wilson, 44, lives in a nearby street and said she has experienced no problems as a result of the site.
The retail manager said: ‘It’s just another world. Good luck to them.
‘They are good people. It’s their life, they can do what they want as far as I am concerned.’
Another local, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘It’s like living in two separate worlds.
‘I forget they are there a lot of the time.’