Travellers are battling to get back home to the site they have been evicted from.

Those living at the Moses Gate Gypsy and Traveller site are appealing a court order to shut down the site for three months.

Bolton Council announced a month ago that the Crompton Lodge site would be closed saying it had links to crime.

This month those living there were evicted.

Traveller Kathleen Ward, who has been forced to move in with relatives in Accrington, spoke of her heartbreak at what had taken place and of her desire to get back 'home'.

She said: “We can’t all be together.

“There have been so many horrible racist comments on Facebook to me and my family, when we are doing nothing wrong.

“Some are staying in Bolton as they want to keep the children in school.

“There have been six or seven generations of us who have missed out on education.

“There have been no welfare checks on the children.

“I don’t know where some of the others have done.

“We just want to go back to Crompton Lodge.

“My heart is completely broken because my family has been torn apart.”

A number of them have relocated to New House Farm Playing Fields,  and others have been forced to leave Bolton.

(Image: NQ) Read more: Bolton Council to close Crompton Lodge

Read more: Travellers evicted from Moses Gate

Read more: Travellers set up in new area

(Image: NQ)

Following the eviction Bolton Council leader Nick Peel said the focus would be on finding a new home for those who had left.

He said: “As the judge acknowledged, the council has always understood that Crompton Lodge is, first and foremost, a home and a place that is much loved by the families who live there.

“The safety and wellbeing of those tenants has been the council’s key priority throughout this process, and the decision to pursue a closure order was never taken lightly.

“However, the overwhelming evidence presented to the court shows we had reached a point where it was no longer possible to safely maintain the site.

“It would have been unacceptable to continue with the site as it was, a situation which harmed tenants, local residents, and the wider Traveller community.

“Our focus now turns to supporting our tenants to find a new home in a safe and secure environment, while the site remains closed and secure.”