Updated: Calls for repairs to Fenland travellers' site amid fire and subsidence fears

Residents living on a council-run caravan park fear someone will be seriously hurt or killed if work to improve safety at the site is not carried out.

Patricia Smith and fellow resident Archie Dorton say they have been fighting to get work done at the Parkfield gipsy-travellers site in Wisbech St Mary for over two years but say they are being ignored and fobbed off with make-shift repairs.

Archie, a single father of two, blames an electrical fault for a fire this summer which cost him and his children everything.

And he claims he had reported problems with an electrical supply just weeks before the blaze which completely destroyed his family's two caravans and caused damage to the outhouse and nearby trees.

Fortunately they were out when the fire happened and returned to find numerous fire appliances battling the blaze.

Archie said: "I sent a message saying water had been pouring through one of the sockets and said it needed looking at, but nothing was done. Then the fire happened and I have been told by the fire brigade it was caused by an electrical fault.

"Since the fire there has been no inspection of other electrics on the site, including on the plot adjoining the one where the fire happened."

Patricia is worried the site is subsiding and said her outhouse is slowly moving with the underpinning raised several inches above the ground.

Her pitch is sinking and there are cracks across it causing a trip hazard.

She said: "You only have to look at the outhouse to see it leaning. The council keep coming out and patching the cracks, they only did it three months ago and it is already really bad again with the concrete sticking nearly an inch in the air.

"We have had people out who have advised the only solution is to knock the outbuilding down and rebuild it, but instead all we get is someone coming out with a bit of cement.

"After the fire at Archie's the fire brigade said the conifers at the back of my plot need to come down as they are fire hazard - that was months ago and nothing has been done and I have been told there is no budget.

"Clearly there is a major problem, when you look across the site there are cracks everywhere. They have put cameras down the drains to see what's causing the subsidence but that's as far as it has gone.

"They never carry out checks on our electrics, I believe they are supposed to be done every year, but I can't remember it ever being done here.

"The fire was really bad and it was only luck that it didn't spread along the whole site because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. The firefighters had trouble getting it under control and Archie lost everything. Luckily no one was hurt or killed, but it could have been a different story.

"I really think nothing will be done, and our worries won't be listened to until someone is hurt, or worst still killed."

Fenland District Council, who runs the site on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, has said action is being taken and denied the fire had been caused by an electrical fault.

A council spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, the caravan site does have an ongoing issue with subsidence but this is being addressed by the council, in line with recommendations from an independent structural engineer’s report.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing residents but can assure them that work to rectify this issue is taking place and that we are committed to resolving it as soon as possible.

"In May 2022 the council arranged for an electrical engineer to assess a property on the site, following a report from a resident regarding faulty electrics.

"The engineer identified a fault with the outside sockets and returned two working days later to replace them. Whilst onsite, the engineer also found a damaged meter box door, so a replacement was ordered and promptly fitted. We can confirm that a Fire Service report following a caravan fire in June 2022 was related to a fridge/freezer, and not faulty electrics.

"The council also carries out electrical safety testing at all sites every five years in accordance with the Electrical Safety Regulations, with the next testing due to be carried out in 2024.

"The council undertakes weekly fire safety checks at caravan sites it manages, and regular independent fire safety audits, to identify and act upon any risks identified.

"The trees around the boundary of the Parkfield Caravan site had not been identified as a fire hazard to us by the fire service, but following our own safety checks we have arranged for the trees to be cut back. Tree works commenced on site on October 26 and will be ongoing over the next six months."