North Yorkshire Council gets court order to move caravan from layby

The man, who is in his late-70s, had no water or heating in his caravan and now has no transport to fetch food, Lynne Ashton for North Yorkshire Council said.

The mobile home was in poor condition with broken windows and door and “there is concern about the build-up of human faeces outside the caravan”, she said.

When council officers visited him, he was dirty and there was a strong smell from the caravan which didn’t appear to have washing facilities.

For months the man had resisted council efforts to rehouse him elsewhere, including at places specially arranged for him on caravan sites.

Only when it snowed last week did he consent to leave the caravan with his dog and take up residence in a hostel for the homeless.

The council was concerned for his welfare and had received “numerous” complaints about the man’s presence on the layby, said Ms Ashton

York magistrates granted the council’s application for an order enabling officers to remove the caravan, which belongs to the man, from the layby.

The court was told the vehicle will be held in a council depot for some weeks to give time for arrangements to be made for the man’s future accommodation.

It was also told that the man had been notified about the hearing. He was not present, nor was he represented by a lawyer.

The nearest shop to the layby, which is in open countryside on a sharp bend on the B6161 west of Harrogate, is at least a mile away.

Ms Ashton said the caravan had been parked on the layby for a year, but the council had only been aware of it for half that time.

“He has been travelling in the caravan for 20 years and he is very reluctant to leave,” she said. “We have been working with the man for six months to resolve this problem.”

Its presence on the layby was a road safety issue because it could distract motorists driving round the bend, she said.

The layby where a man lived for 12 months (Image: Google Maps)

The man had had a van, but police had confiscated it because it was untaxed and didn’t have a valid MOT certificate.

Since then, he had been unable to drive to shops as the caravan could not be moved, and the council had been taking him sandwiches.

“We cannot force him to leave the caravan,” she said. “For the time being he is out, but he could move back.”

The council wanted permission to move the caravan with a low loader and take it to a safe place.

It couldn’t be driven on its own wheels, she said.