A prime parcel of land in sleepy Sundridge – in the heart of the Kent stockbroker belt – came up for auction last September.

The one-acre field in an area of outstanding natural beauty had a reserve price of £60,000 and attracted a flurry of bids, eventually going under the hammer for £167,000.

'We thought we could put the money to good use,' said John Evans, the tireless chairman of the parish council which owned the plot. His words were uttered with a weary smile. Who can blame him given the events of the past week?

For the auction's Lot 75 is now occupied by travellers who descended on the village over Easter, causing uproar in the community. Poor Mr Evans was unfairly blamed for selling the site to them – even accused by some of being part of a money laundering operation. The situation was made infinitely worse by unfounded rumours that the new 'residents' were part of an infamous clan jailed for forcing vulnerable individuals into slavery.

All this plus a confrontation with police when a static home loaded onto a truck became wedged in the country lane leading to the site, leaving the route impassable until the early hours of Monday.

Cue mayhem. Villagers arrived on the scene. Tempers flared. Police were called. Arrests were made – at least one arrest, anyway: the son of Mr Evans no less.

James Evans was carted off to a cell with his hands cuffed behind his back for telling two locals to ignore police requests to move their cars which were preventing the lorry entering the field, something that constituted 'obstructing an officer' apparently.

Remember, this is Sundridge (population about 1,200) where trouble of any kind is as rare as hen's teeth. Isn't it ironic, many might think, that the only person who ended up having his collar felt was a respected member of the community who runs his own landscaping business and who felt, rightly or wrongly, that the local constabulary was 'aiding and abetting' lawbreakers – the travellers – who were moving onto green belt land and carrying out work without planning permission.

The wider narrative, and a cautionary tale for towns and villages everywhere, is that what happened in this corner of Kent, on the outskirts of Sevenoaks where homes regularly command prices in excess of £2 million, is part of a tried-and-tested modus operandi.

The agricultural plot was one of three so-called 'land grabs' in three different counties – Surrey and Hertfordshire being the others – over the four-day weekend.

The timing was not a coincidence. Councils were closed over the bank holiday weekend and therefore unable to take any action to prevent planning rules being flagrantly flouted. Retrospective planning permission can be applied for building work in any case, including static homes on hardcore standings and human rights legislation ruthlessly exploited to avoid eviction.

This has created 'two-tier justice', according to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, which she has pledged to end by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), if the Conservatives win the next general election.

Miles Martin Connors is the man who bought the land, Land Registry documents confirm. And he will be applying for retrospective planning permission, he revealed when he spoke to the Daily Mail.

'I just need somewhere to live with my family,' he said, a point reiterated by his wife Margaret, who added: 'No one else is going to live on this land, only me, my husband and my three children.'

Their two-bedroom static home is on hardstanding. Drainage pipes have been laid and a septic tank installed. Note that all this work was carried out over the Easter weekend, so there was no advance warning for residents.

But the family are living in a mobile home on the plot at the moment (there is also a caravan belonging to their daughter) because a temporary 'stop notice' was issued by Sevenoaks District Council on Tuesday requiring any unauthorised work to cease for up to 56 days which means their intended home cannot be supplied with electricity or running water.

Mr Connors has complied with the order but he – or at least his lawyer – knows this is a battle he will eventually win.

Why did the lorries and diggers move in on Good Friday of all days? It was down to the 'contractors', he insists, who told him they were 'available to do the work' and he was desperate to leave the site he was previously on in Tonbridge because of 'trouble' there and his wife's ill-health.

Not everyone in Sundridge will believe him. Furthermore, it was the 'contractors', said Mr Connors, who began ripping up hedges and undergrowth on the side of the narrow lane to free the lorry (transporting the static home) that particularly incensed residents.

'All I wanted to do is find a home for family,' he repeatedly stressed, and said his lawyer would appeal any enforcement action.

Unfortunately, the febrile atmosphere which ensued in the aftermath of the bank holiday disturbance intensified when Mr Connors became the victim of mistaken identity. Rumours spread through the village that he was the Miles Connors from a family of millionaire travellers jailed for a total of 18 years in 2012 for beating homeless drifters and addicts and forcing them to live in squalor and work for a pittance.

Same name, different person, according to our checks.

'Jesus Christ,' exclaimed Mr Connors when informed of the rumours. He said he knew of the other Miles Connors who, he says, gives travellers a bad name.

In fact, the Miles Connors who was imprisoned is 38. The Miles (Martin) Connors who is standing in the field he purchased is 45. Nor do they look like each other.

The rumours, however, and other misinformation, led to farcical accusations that the parish council was laundering money on behalf of the new owner which the authority addressed with a statement on its website.

'It is disappointing and unacceptable to hear false, divisive and potentially defamatory comment directed at members of the parish council,' it read. 'Councillors are volunteers who give their time freely and work tirelessly in the interests of our community.'

No more so than chairman John Evans himself. Nevertheless, at a hastily convened public meeting Mr Evans offered to resign.

'I told everyone that because it was my suggestion in the first place to put the land up for sale. I offered my resignation to the parish council. They flatly refused. I have subsequently received many emails of support from residents.'

Mr Evans said the sale – handled by auctioneers Clive Emson, frequently seen on TV's Homes Under the Hammer, and the parish council's own solicitors – was fully transparent and usual 'due diligence' was conducted, including money-laundering checks.

It's probably the first time, though, that 'money laundering' and 'parish council' have appeared in the same sentence.

Mr Evans explained: 'We have to obtain best value for the taxpayer. This is a legal requirement. Several people warned us that travellers would buy the land. But we are not allowed to discriminate.' The fallout from the sale has been volcanic, nonetheless. 'Everyone is reeling from last weekend,' said one resident, a businessman. 'The village is in shock.'

Someone else, who lives close to the field with his wife and two children, spoke for many when he said: 'I believe the family have worked in cahoots with the contractors [something Mr Connors denies] who supplied the lorries and the hardcore and moved in with military precision, breaking all planning guidelines.'

Almost everyone we spoke to was critical of the police response – especially James Evans, son of the aforementioned parish council chairman. He became embroiled in the commotion on Easter Sunday because it was near his parents' home and he wanted to find out what was going on.

After Mr Evans was arrested he spent more than an hour in a cell in Tonbridge where his handcuffs, which left painful marks on his wrists, were removed. He then had a further 90 minutes waiting to be interviewed, when, he says, he was not allowed to go to the toilet or offered a drink. 'One of my best friends is a traveller,' he said. 'I have nothing against travellers whatsoever. The only issue I had was the way the police dealt with it, threatening people with arrest. I was disgusted.'

His ordeal, which began shortly after 11am, finally ended with his release at 2pm pending further investigation, although no further action is expected to be taken.

Kent Police declined to comment on the arrest of Mr Evans. But Superintendent Elena Hall said she 'recognised the strength of feeling in the Sundridge community' and stressed the 'priority was to help unblock the road' in the safest way. 'To set the record straight,' she said, 'it wasn't to facilitate access for the HGV,' adding: 'Matters concerning private land ownership and access is a civil matter and not something the police have powers in regard to.'

Sundridge was not the only village targeted over Easter. So were Alfold, Surrey, and Flamstead, Hertfordshire. Three different locations but the same guerrilla tactics on land believed to have been purchased beforehand by the travellers. In Alfold, where house prices average £800,000, a convoy of 15 caravans pitched up on Thursday of last week on the stroke of 4.15pm, as officials at Waverley Borough Council clocked off for the bank holiday weekend.

Within hours hardcore, Tarmac, pipework, two septic tanks and fencing covered a field where horses used to graze. 'It was sophisticated and ruthlessly planned,' said a local who lives in one of the houses near the site.

The council acted swiftly. 'Stop notices were served on Thursday and again on the Friday,' it said in a statement. 'However, these appear not to have been complied with... the council are exploring all enforcement options.'

In Flamstead – at exactly the same time – 12 diggers and bulldozers, followed by 12 caravans, moved into a four-acre field.

Residents had suspected the 'invasion' was coming, having seen people checking out the site and blocked entrances and exits to the land with farm vehicles, fences and even dug trenches – to no avail. They said their resistance was met with violent threats and abuse. 'It's a disgrace,' said a local who was there.

On Easter Sunday, Dacorum Borough Council obtained an emergency court injunction which was served on the site prohibiting further works from taking place. But no one in Flamstead, Alfold or Sundridge hold out any real hope of life returning to normal.

Why would Mr Connors, for example, have spent £167,000 on a field in Kent if he thought he was going to be evicted? Enforcement action, says Sevenoaks District Council, will be 'proportionate to any breach, taking account of Government guidance and legislation as well as local planning policies'.

Translation: the law is on the side of travellers.

Mr Connors will probably be granted retrospective planning permission because a shortage of authorised traveller sites across the Sevenoaks district means he and his family will be allowed to stay on human rights grounds – 'respect for private and family life'.

'I can understand how people feel,' says Mr Connors. 'They think there are going to be more caravans coming but there isn't.'

Perhaps. But the truth is that in Britain 2026, travellers who choose a nomadic lifestyle take priority, it seems, over everyone else which, in too many cases, has resulted in criminality and anti-social behaviour.

As one elderly woman in Sundridge put it: 'The law is an ass and needs changing immediately.'

Additional reporting: Isaac Crowson and Tim Stewart