Always on the move, clashes with locals and NEVER going to school… nine-year-old girl reveals what gypsy life is REALLY like
Margaret and her family set up camp at a Birmingham school in February
IRISH Traveller Margaret, nine, lives in Birmingham with her family - she's never been to school, and instead stays home to help her mum with the housework.
Travellers are notoriously private, but a new show has revealed what really goes on behind the gates of a campsite.
Margaret and her family, who set up camp at a Birmingham school in February, have been moved on 30 times in just six months - as the city only has one fixed caravan park, meaning there's nowhere for them to stay.
Just two days before filming started for Gypsy Kids, police evicted the family from the grounds of the local school - where they caused 800 pupils to miss a day's education.
But Margaret's cousin Bridget-Marie isn't very sympathetic, telling the Channel 5 cameras: "They’re missing one day.
"We’re missing a lifetime of school. I am 13 and I never went to school. He’s 14 and he’s never been to school. They’re saying we’re being bad. We’re not bad people."
And Margaret, who has only ever know playing the role of a homemaker, can't understand why locals get so upset by their community.
She says: “We've been around the whole world and no one likes us, there has to be a reason why they don’t like us. It’s not fair.”
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The show offers a rare insight into Traveller life from the viewpoint of the kids - who clearly hate moving around all the time.
Margaret adds: "It’s not fair. How would you like to keep on moving places?
"It’s very upsetting. People need to understand how we are. We don’t steal, we don’t do nothing like that.
"What’s the problem? We’re not doing no harm. All we want is a place to stay."
Talking about public attitude towards Travellers, she adds: "When people walk past they call us 'p****s' and 'ugly Gypsies'. 'I hope you blow up', and stuff like that.
"They’re horrible to us. We’re not dogs, we’re human beings as well.";
When filming begins, Margaret and her family are living on the grounds of a council estate - and don't have access to running water.
So she and her mum make daily trips to a nearby graveyard, to fill up their water tanks.
It's not long before the bailiffs turn up to evict the group - a job which, according to Channel 5 producers, costs British councils £18 million-a-year.
But Margaret's family haven't found a suitable site to move to yet, and are determined they won't be evicted.
Things soon turn nasty, with one of the dads telling the bailiffs to "f*** off" and another saying: "You are gonna have to have cranes to get us out of here."
As the drama unfolds, Margaret's cousin Sonny tells the cameras: "It makes me a bit p***ed off.
"Because it’s alright for them (the bailiffs), they can go back to their warm house and we have to keep moving. How would they feel if they had to keep moving?"
With the family refusing to budge, the police are called in to help, and the first arrests are made.
Within minutes, the girls are taking the lead from their dads, screaming at the cops and asking: "Why do you have them in handcuffs?"
One girl says: "If you’re gonna take that pick-up (truck), I’m coming along with you to smash it."
While Margaret adds: "Yeah and I’m gonna smash it on the back of your brain."
Three of the girls, including Margaret, take it upon themselves to sit in their pick-up truck - meaning the authorities are powerless to take it away.
They taunt the cops, saying: "You big eejit. You big fools. You dossers. We are the p****s we do what we likey."
Margaret's cousin Angel explains: "We have to fight back sometimes. We have to stick up for ourselves."
With the girls in the truck, the police legally have no right to move it. Their parents eventually strike a deal with the cops - and they move on peacefully.
Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World is on Channel 5 on Thursdays at 9pm.
