Enraged villagers have questioned why an illegal traveller site has been allowed to remain in place for months - while another just 17 miles away was cleared within hours.

Travellers dumped truckloads of hardcore onto the field in Willows Green, near Felsted, Essex, without consent and under the cover of darkness, over the May bank holiday weekend. 

Around 60 residents have now confronted Uttlesford District Council over the unauthorised site which has remained for four months - only to be told the travellers were not stopped because there had been no racism or threats of violence during the incursion.

Locals were also angry the council had failed to remove two families from the site who have been left to live there for four months without the threat of eviction. 

Some 50 loads of hardcore were dumped onto the field in Willows Green four months ago with the council and police doing little to stop it.

Their response lies in stark contrast to that of East Herts District Council over an illegal development in Sawbridgeworth last weekend. 

After hardcore was dumped onto wetland, and fencing and pitches set up, authorities in Sawbridgeworth swiftly took matters in hand through court and police action. By the end of the weekend, no one had moved into the site.

At the meeting this week, Willows Green resident Tracy Williams, 43, scolded the council for doing 'nothing'.

She said: 'That bit of land was beautiful. It's agricultural land and it's been illegally built on. They went on the Friday night. There was maybe 50 trucks of hardcore. They bussed in workers. It went on over the whole bank holiday weekend, four days.

'They were working hard, day and night. The council was doing nothing. They had just shut down. They did nothing.

'When I phoned the emergency line, it was only for gas leaks. We were not an emergency. I arranged the residents on the Sunday and when we went down there the police asked what was going on.

'They were driving vehicles at us and we called the police. We must have had between 25 to 30 people there. The police attended.

'We made the point that we are a nice community of residents and I advised everyone that we should leave as I did not want to put anyone in danger.'

The developers initially entered the site by breaking the chain on a metal gate down a quiet lane, the Daily Mail was told. They then tore out a section of hedge leading to the main road and erected huge wooden and metal gates.

More than a dozen pitches were established. Residents living on the once-quiet lane beside the site say they can now hear the sound of generators most of the time.

It is unclear however where sewage is going or how water is supplied to the site.

Willows Green resident Andrew Madders said: 'In Sawbridgeworth, East Hertfordshire Council acted swiftly, giving residents the decisive, coordinated response expected when unauthorised development risks irreversible harm.

'It raises a simple question for Willows Green. Why was our experience so different?'

Councillors repeatedly told residents there was a pending court action regarding proceedings against the illegal developers for contempt of court, and as such were unable to speak openly. 

Chair of the meeting, councillor Neil Gregory said: 'This matter is under the High Court and you will understand if people are extremely guarded in their responses. That's not to obfuscate or avoid responsibility.'

Councillor John Evans, who has responsibility for planning matters in the area, said: 'We do need to be guarded in what we say for obvious reasons.' 

Residents heard that Uttlesford District Council applied for a High Court injunction to stop the traveller site at Willows Green, but it had been ignored. 

By contrast, when East Herts Council's injunction for the site in Sawbridgeworth was ignored, it swiftly sought a second injunction which gave police greater powers to stop the illegal development. 

Councillors argued the situation in Sawbridgeworth was different because that protest had seen racism and threats of violence.

Cllr Evans said: 'The judge was satisfied in Sawbridgeworth that there was a risk of potential physical harm to individuals and that included racial and stereotypical abuse and threats of violence.'

Residents sat quietly for the majority of the council meeting - although one shouted 'what rubbish!' at one point - to which the chair threatened to throw the residents out of the meeting.

The chair said an extraordinary meeting of the council would be held within seven days to discuss the matter further. 

After the meeting, resident Phoebe Nowakiwskyj, 43, said: 'So if you're polite and toe the line nothing gets done about the [illegal development]? If you create a scene and breach the peace then you get assistance?

'I find that so sad. There was a verbal altercation at our site [over the May bank holiday weekend] and police were there and so was councillor John Evans.

'You can tell that they're continuing to play their cards close to their chest. It's much easier to hide behind the fact that it's a legal matter and they can't say anything.'

Sherrie Smith, founder of Gate Essex, which speaks on behalf of gypsies and travellers over planning issues, said the families felt they had been unfairly treated. 

She said local authorities across the country are not fulfilling their legal obligations to provide traveller sites.

Ms Smith told the crowd: 'The family are two cousins. They moved on there in May, then the injunction was issued [ordering them] not to bring any more dwellings on the land and they did not bring any more travellers on to the land.

'There's a legal planning application in place now and that will be decided on its merits and not on protest.'

She said: 'Uttlesford District Council has a legal duty to deliver 19 pitches to the [traveller] families by 2028 and they're not doing that. 

'This is being repeated across the country. I feel sorry for the residents. I do not endorse this kind of planning at all. There should not be retrospective planning applications. Local authorities should do what they're supposed to do.'

A statement issued on behalf of the residents of the traveller site said: 'There is currently a valid planning application under review and we believe the proper planning process should be allowed to take its course. 

'We fully understand the main road is public and open to everyone. However, that does not mean the area inside the gates of our homes is public space.

'This is where our families live and where our children should be able to feel safe and have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

'This is not about attacking or criticising the local community. It is about protecting the privacy, safety and wellbeing of our families and children while a legitimate planning application is being properly considered.'