TREAT OTHERS WITH RESPECT

It was an ordinary Thursday evening, when my usual drive home through our quiet, rural village took an unsettling turn.

- Isabel Webster says what you're thinking

Two Traveller boys, larking about loudly, had brought their horse (and cart) to the river for a drink of water - the first time I'd seen anything like this locally.

I caught myself jumping to conclusions. I imagined a sudden influx of caravans, loud music and rising crime. Just days before, I'd read about a pensioner allegedly attacked after a large Traveller group descended on Sunbury, Surrey, which is often dubbed 'Britain's Beverly Hills'. The image stayed with me.