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Pensioner beaten up and 'left for dead' as '50 travellers' flock to 'Britain's Beverly Hills'
15 April 2025, 10:41 | Updated: 15 April 2025, 17:54
A pensioner has said he was beaten up and left for dead with two cracked ribs when 50 members of the traveller community descended onto a leafy Surrey village.
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Witnesses have told LBC that dozens of travellers turned up in horse-carts, crashing into cars, seizing alcohol, urinating on streets, and in the worst case, physically attacking locals in Sunbury.
Footage shows dozens of men crowding in a quiet village pub, the Flower Pot, as bottles were smashed, and the pub was forced to close early because it could not cope.
The pensioner, who wants to remain anonymous, lives nearby to the pub which was overwhelmed by travellers. He said that he was en route to a local allotment to give his wife a coffee and a fork for her lunch, when he was attacked by two travellers.
"When I came out, I could hardly step out onto the pavement, so I asked some of the horse and cart drivers to move so I could move up," he told LBC.
"Two of them ran up to me and said "What the f**k are you doing"?'
"They beat the hell out of me. Two of them jumped on me. One of them grabbed me around the neck. One of them grabbed me around the legs. They knocked me over onto the ground. They were kneeing me, kicking me, punching me. They've cracked two of my ribs. They've bruised my legs. They've damaged my kidney."
He said the attackers stopped when a nearby couple saw what was happening and they called the police.
"They ran off and left me lying on the ground... crippled".
He said the police then arrived and told travellers who were still in the area to leave.
Officers were given a dispersal order, allowing them to break up groups of two or more across the whole of the Elmbridge district.
Surrey Police said it followed reports of "issues related to a large number of horse and traps on the roads."
One local told LBC he got stuck in a traffic jam at Shepperton marina, and that the horse and traps added "at least an hour to what should have been a five-minute journey.'
"We actually heard stories about horse and carts, and thought perhaps there was a wedding at the church. We didn't realise until later about the riot which took place," he said.
The local also said he was disappointed that police didn't tackle the disruption, as other residents had discussed the travellers' plans to come to the village in advance on Facebook.
Another local told LBC: "This is a very nice pleasant little town. We just don't have things like that happening. So it's appalling.
"It's disgusting. Why they've come here I don't know, and why they can't behave when they do come I don't know."
It's an area which has been home to various Premier League footballers like Frank Lampard and John Terry, and locals have been genuinely shocked by the level of disruption brought to the normally quiet village.
Officers conducted extra patrols on Sunday, and the travellers were also understood to have been in other nearby areas that day including Hampton Court, Bushy Park, Molesey and Hersham.
Surrey Police has said it is now appealing for witnesses after a "weekend of anti-social behaviour in Elmbridge".
Chief Superintendent Aimee Ramm said: "Due to the large numbers involved, officers prioritised dealing with the immediate disorder, but I would like to stress that our enquiries into related reports of criminal behaviour are being thoroughly investigated as a matter of urgency.'
