Travellers ordered to leave illegal site right next to ultra-high-security nuclear weapons factory

A High Court judge has ordered a group of travellers to leave an illegal site just a stone's throw from an ultra-high-security nuclear weapons factory. Traveller families were found to have deliberately defied a court injunction by moving onto the land and continuing to build on the encampment near the Atomic Weapons Establishment (Awe) at Aldermaston in Berkshire. Judge Sylvia de Bertodano, delivering her ruling, warned that letting them stay would make future court orders "entirely toothless"."However, it cannot be right that if they ride roughshod over the orders of this court, they will succeed in defeating their purpose," the judge said.One family was exempted from the order, having occupied the site before the injunction was served.The dispute has been rumbling on since last year, when the group erected 13 static homes on land facing the sprawling Aldermaston campus - the largest of Britain's three nuclear warhead manufacturing sites.Hundreds of concerned residents signed a petition as building work progressed, with locals warning they were "anxious" and "fearing for their safety".West Berkshire Council responded by issuing a temporary stop notice in November after a planning application was lodged for the works, but construction carried on regardless.The council secured an injunction on December 18, served the following day, which barred further residential occupation and building activity - with an exception for one caravan housing a single family.Despite the order being extended into January, the site expanded to at least 22 separate pitches, the judgment revealed.The court received evidence that the travellers posed a risk to Britain's nuclear emergency preparedness. Tom Bennington, a senior civil servant within the Defence Nuclear Organisation, testified that rising population density near the facility was placing its operations under mounting strain.An Awe witness, referred to only as AE, told the court that caravans offered far less protection than brick-built structures, leaving vulnerable individuals inadequately sheltered near the nuclear site.TRAVELLERS - READ THE LATEST:Couple demand refund after travellers pitch up next to £3million homeTravellers take over college car park as students return for first day backTravellers who invaded local park to be 'trapped' as locals given 'unfortunate' updateCarolyn Richardson, who oversees the joint emergency-planning unit for three local authorities, warned that a nuclear incident could force responders to redirect resources towards the caravan site, potentially at the expense of established residents.However, she noted the Office for Nuclear Regulation had not formally deemed the existing plan inadequate."I make it clear that this factor is not determinative of my decision, but it is right that I should refer to it as a particular concern," the judge said.Dr Pearce, appearing on behalf of the residents, contended that the actual risk was minimal given the relatively small number of additional dwellings, and that bolstering the emergency plan with extra resources could resolve any shortcomings. The judge found his evidence did little to ease her concerns.Judge de Bertodano acknowledged the families' rights to private and family life and weighed the welfare of children on the site, but concluded it could not be "right" to use bringing "children onto a site in disobedience to an injunction as a trump card to defeat its purpose".She dismissed the residents' accounts of when they had arrived as "entirely unconvincing".Sixteen planning applications filed in May were found to be incorrectly completed and therefore invalid, leaving no live application before the council at the time of the hearing.The exact departure date remains to be finalised following further written submissions, with the judge expected to rule on the matter by September 14. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter