A tearful traveller pleaded to be allowed to stay on an illegal encampment in Stanway for the sake of his wife's health.
Two families are appealing against Colchester Council's decision to take enforcement action to remove them from the site at Turkey Cock Lane and to refuse a planning application for six caravans and a toilet block, which they had already built.
A public inquiry at Colchester town hall yesterday heard that Nathan Lee's wife Julie is on medication for a heart condition.
Mr Lee, who bought the site with his friend Tom Brown for £25,000, said: "The life we live is a bit rough and I want somewhere for my wife to go in winter.
"If anything happened to her, I couldn't go on with life.
"We've been here 15 months and there has been no crime or complaints. We are honest people who want a peaceful life."
Government inspector Felix Bourne will visit the site today and said a final decision would be made in five weeks.
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Published Wednesday, November 30, 2005
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