Travellers try in vain to find a place to rest: Today, Liberty launches a charter of human rights to help safeguard the freedoms of those who choose life on the road. Heather Mills reports

ON A tiny parcel of land at the fringes of a large Hampshire estate, a small group of dispirited men, women and children were packing their belongings and preparing to move on.

They had no idea where to. It is the eighth time since January that they have been forced to move. And there are no welcomes for 25 people and their assortment of mobile homes.

The travellers only knew that they had until 11 o'clock this morning to clear out - the deadline set after Monday's court order obtained by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer, evicting them and their vehicles from his 4,000-acre estate, near Burghclere, in Hampshire. Kate Jones was on the brink of despair. 'The constant moving, the constant hassle with the police. It is actually getting to the stage where I am wondering if I can carry on like this.' Ms Jones is 26 and opted for a life as a traveller three years ago, sharing a converted bus with her partner, Paddy, and their two children, Krishna, six, and Charlie, nearly two.

The move - after only eight days on Sir Andrew's field - brings her added problems. It means Krishna has to miss school, in nearby Newbury, again for the day, while the family searches for a new home base. 'Those at the school are understanding, but it is not good for Krishna,' she said.

According to Ms Jones and her friends, life on the road never used to be as fraught. But vigorous enforcement of by-laws, the Public Order Act, bad publicity and lack of provision of sites with facilities has taken away much of the enchantment.

Government proposals to further penalise travellers and gypsies, by making it a criminal, rather than a civil offence to stop on land without permission and by removing local authority duty to provide adequate sites, could take away the little that remains.

It is to protect groups, such as those gathered on Sir Andrew's land, that Liberty today launches a charter of human rights for travellers, in Westminster. It claims the Government's proposals violate the European Convention on Human Rights governing family life, freedom of association and freedom from discrimination.

Andrew Puddephatt, general secretary, said Liberty would challenge the Government through the courts if the proposals were implemented. He said: 'Existing powers to deal with illegal encampments are perfectly adequate. The right to travel, to stop and to stay should be considered intrinsic rights for all citizens in a free society. No one should be forced to live in constant fear of persecution because of their lifestyle or ethnic origin.'

According to the Government's own statistics, about 40,000 people live in 12,500 caravans on authorised and unauthorised sites in England alone.

Many of Ms Jones's group have been together on the Hampshire-Berkshire border for the past three years, through easy summers and harsh winters, pursuing their particular lifestyle. Some gave up studies, some had jobs, others moved out of squats.

'It's about more than a way of life,' one said. 'It is a whole different way of thinking - a holistic way of treating life and caring about the land. We are like a big family unit. There are lots of people to look after and teach the kids.'

They live mainly on income support, some working when they can. And they rely upon the goodwill - not always forthcoming - of garages and shops for water. The resident community gives them a mixed reception. 'Some are nice. Some are not,' Tracey said. 'It's only the kids on the buses passing by shouting out 'smelly hippies', but that's kids.'

They accept that some of the bad publicity surrounding travellers is deserved, but claim it is a small number, coupled with large gatherings of 'ravers' and others at festivals, that has brought about much of the trouble.

'Some of the people living on the road have changed. Some are anarchic and lawless. But there are many, like us, who just want to lead our own lives.' Ms Jones pulls herself up. 'Oh God, we're beginning to sound like a bunch of old fogies, going on about the youngsters,' she said.

Jim, a former nurse, had returned from checking out a potential site - a rare suggestion from a concerned local. 'It's not good,' he said. 'It is at the end of a kind of cul-de-sac, there is a chain across the entrance and the field is steep and marshy.'

The group has few options. If nowhere is found by the end of the day, the travellers will stop in a lay-by overnight. They are determined not to go too far because of Krishna's education - and because they are nearly all local. 'It is tough enough now, without the changes in the law,' Jim said.

Paddy said he would fight for his rights. But Ms Jones was tired: 'I feel I should fight. But I start to wonder if the constant hassle and moving about is making the kids suffer.

'What the Government is proposing is ethnic cleansing,' she said. 'They just want to wipe us out.'

(Photograph omitted)