THEY claim to have been made pariahs – outcasts of a judgmental society.

Now a group of gipsies is seeking to challenge the prejudice.

More than 5,000 people signed a petition opposing the travellers’ site being built off Severalls Lane, Colchester. The debate has raged on for seven years, but now 12 travelling families have moved on to the site.

They said they hoped to be treated with respect and compassion – just as they treat others.

The Romany gipsy families said most of them were Born Again Christians who had high moral standards.

They said impressions created by the illegal gipsy camp at Dale Farm in Basildon, and by the cult TV show My Big Fat Gipsy Wedding, were a “million miles away” from their lives.

Each of the families still sleep in their caravans, but have a brick-built kitchen, bathroom and living room.

Patience Buckley lives on one of the sites with her husband, Dave, and their two daughters. One of their daughters is studying at Colchester Institute and Patience is also the site manager.

She said: “Families move here because they want their children to be educated in schools. You can’t do that if you are moving about. They also want to register with doctors.”

In her role as site manager, she collects rent and bills and helps with community integration.

“Some of the families can’t read or write, so we help them,” she said. “We are aware of the negative image, but it is lies. We are building a community here.”

Nearly 50 families applied for a place at the new site. One woman who was allocated a place said it was an answer to her prayers.

The gipsy families are very private and many were concerned to give their names, for fear of reprisals. The woman, who is married with three children, said she had lived on a housing estate, but her children had been victimised over their gipsy origins.

She added: “I am happy to be here among other Romany families. We raise our children differently. We teach them more respect and morals. On the estate, I lived near a paedophile and there were drugs everywhere. I am a Born Again Christian and that is the faith my children grow up in.”

Romany gipsy Arthur Wilson, 30, has moved on to the site with his wife and three children.

It is the first time in his life he has stopped travelling. The big decision to find a permanent base came because they want their children to be educated.

Arthur, who works as a gardener, said: “I only went to school from when I was eight-and-a-half to when I was nine. I couldn’t read or write. I am a Born Again Christian and I have learnt to read the Bible a bit. I get by.

“My children are seven, five and four. They need to be settled to go to school and get an education.”

Arthur’s wife laughs at the stereotypes created by TV show My Big Fat Gipsy Wedding, but there are more serious implications. She said: “It makes me angry when people make judgments.

“They think Romany gipsies are thieves and liars, but we are not. We think everyone is equal and that is how we bring our children up. We want other people to treat us that way, too.”

Grandmother-of-six Mandy Lee lives on the site with her husband, Mick. Mandy, 52, said: “It is nice to be settled. I hope to stay here for ever.

“The stereotypes about gipsies are not true. We are not bad people. You get good and bad in any race, but we should not all be tarred with the same brush.”