For five heady summer days a year, it is a Mecca for the greatest bands on the planet.
But the rest of the year, Glastonbury is now being terrorised by ‘hippy thugs’ who strip off to cavort in front of horrified locals and defecate in public.
Angry residents of the Somerset town made famous by the annual Glastonbury music festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of ravers, say they are sick and tired of the scores of hippies who spend the rest of the year in ugly caravans lined up in the streets.
In horrifying scenes, they even say that their once-picturesque home is now plagued with people defecating outside their homes and rolling naked in the fields.
They accuse the police of ignoring their demands to move them on and have now ‘given up’ on the law.
MailOnline discovered several dozen grubby and battered caravans occupied by an army of unwashed itinerants around the once-tranquil town.
Row upon row of the wrecked caravans were parked up in and around Glastonbury, to the fury of local residents.
Glastonbury Tor is now being terrorised by ‘hippy thugs’ who strip off to cavort in front of horrified locals and defecate in public
Residents say they are sick and tired of the scores of hippies who spend the rest of the year in ugly caravans lined up in the streets
A MailOnline investigation discovered several dozen grubby and battered caravans occupied by an army of unwashed itinerants around the once-tranquil town
One of the most popular spots for the hippy mob is the town’s Zig Zag building, which they have moved into illegally.
Although they do not own it or have any legal right to accommodate, they have decked out the huge property’s three floors with second hand furniture, sofas, clothes rails and even a giant disco ball. Swathes of caravans surround the historic building.
The local council is currently taking steps to evict them, with Somerset Council issuing enforcement notices to the owner ordering him to return it to its original state.
In the meantime, local residents say they are fed up with the ‘hippies” antisocial behaviour and complain that the cops are failing to act on their reports of wrongdoing.
Richard Hill, 47, and his terminally-ill wife Sarah, who has lived her whole life in Glastonbury, say they are at their ‘wit’s end’ with the hippies’ destruction of their once-peaceful lives.
Sarah’s condition means she is forced to stay inside her home most days, able only to enjoy the views of the rolling countryside from her window.
But in recent weeks, numerous battered caravans have been plonked down in the area, wrecking her vista.
Husband Richard said: ‘It was beautiful here until this mob of hippy thugs arrived.
Richard Hill, 47, (pictured) and his terminally-ill wife Sarah, who has lived her whole life in Glastonbury, say they are at their ‘wit’s end’ with the hippies’ destruction of their once-peaceful lives
Row upon row of the wrecked caravans were parked up in and around Glastonbury, to the fury of local residents
One of the most popular spots for the hippy mob is the town’s Zig Zag building, which they have commandeered
Swathes of caravans surround the historic building, with the local council currently taking steps to evict them
Once the caravan owners decide to move on, the caravans are left to rot on the pavement
‘We’ve been sitting here trying to enjoy what’s left of the views and had to watch them actually go to the toilet in front of us, in the middle of the field.
‘They don’t care. We have even seen a naked lady rolling around in the fields. I mean, it is just horrible to look at.
‘They never pick up their litter, which I find odd, considering they’re supposed to be people who love the earth. They leave their mess and filth strewn all over the place for others to clear up.
‘As a result, the waste bins in the town are overflowing and the rubbish is constantly piled up everywhere you look.
‘It is so unsanitary, but when you ask them to clear up you get a load of abuse off them. When it comes to foul language, they’ve got quite a vocabulary.’
Richard said living next to the hippy caravan convoy has been ‘a nightmare’.
‘The scariest episode was when several of their caravans caught fire.’ Whilst the caravan community claimed that it was an accident, residents aren’t convinced.
Richard said: ‘I saw them with my own eyes – they set the caravans alight themselves and bashed them together to make a huge explosion, it was very scary and black smoke coated the fields.
Resident Sue Hazlewood, 70, said she has been plagued by issues from the caravans outside her own home
Numerous battered caravans have been plonked down in the area, wrecking the local vista
Locals say the hippies also keep them awake with loud music played day and night, but especially throughout the early hours of the morning
Residents complain that the hippies don’t clean up their rubbish and even defecate in full view
‘They were even throwing huge gas canisters around. God knows why they would do that but it felt so disrespectful and we just gave up complaining.’
Locals say the hippies also keep them awake with loud music played day and night, but especially throughout the early hours of the morning.
Richard said his family no longer dare to park their vehicles in their own road due to the idea that abuse may be hurled at them.
He said many of the hippies own dogs that are often aggressive towards locals.
He said: ‘People are scared to go into the field nearby, which everyone used to enjoy, because of the aggressive dogs they have.’
The ever-increasing population of caravans has also led to housing problems locally. The build up in homelessness in Glastonbury means that its waiting list for housing is racking up a lot of pressure on the local council.
And it’s not only housing. Once the caravan owners decide to move on, the caravans are left to rot on the pavement.
Resident Sue Hazlewood, 70, said she has seen this issue outside her own home.
‘The thing is, they just leave them there,’ she said. ‘And that means the council is going to have to spend more of our money taking them away. There are so many of them that I don’t think the local authority has enough money to really clear up after them.
Local residents say they are fed up with the hippies’ antisocial behaviour and complain that the cops are failing to act on their reports of wrongdoing
Locals complain that the issue of homelessness and the disorder surrounding the caravans is pouring pressure on the council
Some have seen a glimmer of hope after recently witnessing several caravans being removed from a street in the town
Battered caravans line the roads in residential and more rural parts of the Somerset town
‘These people have also caused a huge rat problem with their filth.
‘They leave mess everywhere and couldn’t care less.
‘I’ve often seen them urinating and defecating right in front of people’s homes. It isn’t really what you want to see when you’re trying to enjoy a nice stroll.’
Because none of the incomers pay council tax locally, residents feel even more aggrieved as their presence puts extra pressure on already-stretched resources.
However, some have seen a glimmer of hope after recently witnessing several caravans being removed from a street in the town.
One who witnessed the removal is David, 72, who said: ‘Several caravans were towed away by council trucks a few days ago. I thought about throwing a street party.
‘But I think the police, not the council, should be dealing with this. I think that the police were scared to do anything as they never listened when anyone called in.’
‘The council installed a bike lane across the road where the main line of caravans were, and they were forced to move. I’ve also heard the residents of the Zig Zag building are being evicted, so hopefully we will see some change, although I don’t want to bank on it.’
Last month, occupants of the iconic Zig Zag building – a former factory built in 1934 – lost an appeal to stay there
Christopher Black pictured outside the property he is in dispute with the local authorities
The inside of the former sheep skin factory has been turned into a ‘cultural centre’ by the residents
Last month, occupants of the iconic Zig Zag building – a former factory built in 1934 – lost an appeal to stay there.
Somerset Council issued enforcement notices to the owner of the building, Chris Black, to clear the site and return it to its original state. He appealed against the notices, but the planning inspectorate found in favour of the council.
A former sheep skin factory, the derelict site was bought in 2013 and has sparked anger of residents who fear antisocial behaviour from the people who live inside.
But Mr Black, who says he saved the historic building from demolition when he took ownership more than a decade ago, says he won’t turf anyone out and brags he has turned it into a ‘cultural centre’.
The row, which exploded last year when Somerset Council served an enforcement notice saying the residential use was one of a number of planning breaches, has threatened to envelop the town.
A public inquiry was held after Mr Black appealed the enforcement notice, with residents both inside and outside the factory waiting anxiously to find out the result.
The site, which sits less than ten miles from Glastonbury Festival, lies on the outskirts of the town in an industrial estate.
The building is surrounded by other derelict factories, while the streets surrounding it have become a dumping ground for caravans and trailers, locals say. These are not affiliated with the Zigzag building or Mr Black.
A public inquiry was held after Mr Black appealed the enforcement notice
The Zigzag building now contains a ‘cheap’ charity shop selling repaired wears for 50p and a ‘community textile centre’ where donated clothes are fixed
The 1930s factory is guarded by a set of iron gates and has Ukrainian and Palestinian flags draped on the outside.
People living nearby say the behaviour of people on the site is causing ‘distress’, sparking worried parents to move their children out of nearby schools because of ‘antisocial behaviour’.
Retired carpenter Les Webb, 76, told The Sun the town had ‘a real problem with those seeking an alternative lifestyle’.
‘They come here looking some sort of idyllic life and end up living in the grounds of a derelict building,’ he said.
Locals have been left terrified by the number of people who have descended to the area who ‘have no connection’ with Glastonbury, according to resident Michael Dodson.
The 56-year-old said: ‘To talk about Glastonbury as a place of refuge and compassion is to absolutely ignore the awful experiences of people who have to live near these loose-knit shanty towns.’
But Mr Black, 68, has denied people living in the Zigzag building are causing problems and insists it has a tight-knit community that is a place of refuge for people with few options.
He said: ‘I bought it because it’s a fabulous bauhaus building. We fixed up 2400 windows to make it into a cultural centre.
Mr Black, who says he has spent his life renovating disused buildings, allows some people to live on the site
The encampment has sprouted since the site was bought in 2013
Corduroy-clad Black said the Zigzag building now contains a ‘cheap’ charity shop selling repaired wears for 50p and a ‘community textile centre’ where donated clothes are fixed.
‘People make a living doing things they like,’ he added.
Dismissing noise complaints, he said: ‘We had ceilidh’s over the winter, but they didn’t finish late.’
Mr Black, who says he has spent his life renovating disused buildings, allows some people to live on the site.
He said he has ‘half a dozen’ people living in containers and caravans on the site paying as little as £30 in rent.
Earlier this month, YouTuber Joe Fish was allowed inside the community and was told by one resident that there were 23 inhabitants.
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: ‘Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police do work together with landowners and our communities, as necessary, to tackle anti-social behaviour when it’s reported.
‘Over the past five years much work has been done by the council and partners, and this continues, funded by the Town Deal, a Government initiative. It includes:
- Support for roadside and vehicle dwelling communities, including housing advice.
- Working towards development of a traveller site or sites both permanent and transit, as an Enabling Project in the Town Investment Plan.
- Where necessary, Highways schemes on the roads around the Tor to prevent overnight parking an unauthorised encampments, as well as enforcement on the site of the Zig Zag building and neighbouring trading estates.’
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘We work closely with Somerset Council, landowners and communities to tackle anti-social behaviour in Glastonbury. We urge people to report any incidents either to the council or the police.’
