You will need body bags, Aberdeen residents in traveller standoff told

Residents were warned they could "end up in body bags" during a tense stand off with travellers at an illegal encampment in one of Scotland's major cities, it was claimed yesterday.

Tensions between families living in Abbey Road in the Torry area of Aberdeen and travellers who have based themselves in a disused oil company car park almost reached boiling point late on Wednesday night after Grampian Police officers used their vehicles to prevent more travellers gaining access to the grounds of a disused primary school across the road.

Neighbourhood residents claim they were confronted by a group who threatened them with violence, sparking a near riot in the quiet street.

The travellers denied the claims and said they were planning to leave the area.

Conservative councillor Alan Donnelly, who had joined local residents to offer his support, said yesterday that one local resident had been assaulted during the four-hour stand-off.

He said: "They (the travellers] told us that if we took any action then we'd better fetch body bags, because 'we will start off killing people'.

"They said if we took any action we would end up in body bags."

He added: "I was threatened last night. It was complete chaos and pandemonium for about four hours while the police were waiting for an inspector to come down to assess the situation.

"I have never had so much verbal abuse and intimidation in my life."

Mr Donnelly said: "Abbey Road is a nice quiet area of Torry and the people who stay there are having their lives destroyed by these travellers. The travellers have no consideration for the people living around those streets."

He claimed the travellers had forced their way on to the car park site once used by oil giant Exxon Mobil and then into the grounds of the former Victoria Road primary.

Mr Donnelly said: "That sort of criminal and anti-social behaviour should not be tolerated. But if the police had taken direct action last night we would have had a riot on our hands."

Natalie Sim, 31, a shop worker who lives in Abbey Road, explained that the travellers had begun arriving in the Exxon Mobil car park last Friday and that more than 50 caravans were now on the site. Tensions mounted on Wednesday night after a small number of caravans moved on to the grounds of the former primary school.

She said: "I have hardly slept since they arrived. We get abuse and aggression from them as soon as we leave the house."

Ms Sim added: "This a great neighbourhood with fantastic community spirit, and our lives have been ruined. People feel like prisoners in their own homes. Last night was really scary. It did look as though there was going to be a riot any minute.We came into the house and we have been here ever since."

But yesterday the travellers rejectedthe claims and insisted they were already planning to leave. A number of travellers had driven to Glasgow to see the Pope and once they returned they would be preparing to move on. One of the travellers, Mike Kelly, said: "We are gypsies and we have nowhere to go.

"We came up here about two or three weeks ago and all we have had since then is hassle."

He added: "No-one was threatened. We are not animals."