Travellers set up camp at training school

The training of fire fighters in Northern Ireland was disrupted today after members of the Travelling community set up camp in the training school.

The Northern Ireland Fire Brigade said the Travellers had taken up residence at the Brigade Training Centre on Belfast’s Boucher Road.

There were about 15 caravans on site which arrived shortly before the training centre was locked up last night, they said.

Outdoor training of the trainee fire officers has been halted by the invasion.

Urgent legal moves were being taken to get the caravans evicted, said a spokeswoman.

The brigade appealed to the Travellers to move on, saying they were severely disrupting an operational training facility.

“This is a critical time for our trainees firefighters as they need to progress through intensive practical training – with their graduation only a couple of weeks away,” it said.

In recent weeks Travellers have been moved on from a number of business premises in the Belfast area. They claim they are forced to stop on private property because there are no purpose-built sites available to them.

Traders at a business park at Dundonald in east Belfast claimed they were forced to pay Travellers to move this week. The Travellers denied the claim.