Watch: OAP has teeth knocked out stopping travellers from entering park

A feisty pensioner had her false teeth knocked out after travellers threw her to the ground when she tried to stop them entering a popular park.

Sarah Freeman, 73, wrapped herself around the gate as they tried to move their seven caravans through the entrance to the Hilly Fields nature reserve in Colchester, Essex.

But she lost her false teeth and was left badly bruised as the men pushed her over and tried to prise her fingers away from the lock.

Sarah said: “I wrapped myself around the barrier and they were trying to force me to let go.

“They picked me up and forced me to the ground – my false teeth actually fell out.

“They were trying to get the lock open, but I wouldn’t let them.”

MORE: Travellers who set up camp at a SCHOOL in Birmingham are finally evicted
MORE: Residents in Essex fear new illegal traveller site that is ‘bigger than Dale Farm’

Heroic Sarah was walking her two dogs at the nature reserve on Thursday when she saw the group pull up at the entrance.

She watched several men attempted to force the gate open and thought “enough is enough”.

Running towards the group of men, Sarah wrapped herself round the gate preventing the travellers access.

She stayed there for half an hour before the police arrived and the travellers gave up.

Sarah told how several dog walkers took pictures of the clash, but many seemed afraid to step in.

She recalled: “My adrenaline was shrieking. There were three men trying to get me off the gate and one really nasty lady saying awful things.

“People were just watching and urging me on. After a while the police turned up and the caravans were trying to turn around and leave.

“My family were not too happy with my actions – they were cross that I had intervened and put myself in the way.”

Sarah decided to protect the much-loved beauty spot when she remembered a similar group had arrived on the land last year.

She said: “I recalled a group were on Hilly Fields last year – it was very similar as they gained entry the same way.”

“I have no particular objection to travellers. But when they were here last year there were fires lit, rubbish dumped and human excrement left behind.

“I live near Abbey Field and I know a group of French travellers left their rubbish in bin bags last year.

“I thought of this while I was watching all these vans pull up and thought ‘not again.’ I wrapped myself around the gate and I wasn’t going to let go if it killed me.

“I understand travellers are just people. But you don’t expect anyone to manhandle a 73-year-old woman in order to break-in.”

She added: “I think it’s quite cunning – they removed a bollard and I think someone had already been there trying to remove the padlocks in preparation.”

James Peters, 46, lives just yards away from the popular nature reserve, witnessed the whole ordeal.

He said: “If it hadn’t been for that lady without a doubt that whole field would be full of travellers, it was truly remarkable.”