Today the Battle of Basildon began which saw bailiffs and police officers arrive at the illegal travellers site pitched on prime green belt land to remove the remaining gypsies from the site.

It has been an ongoing struggle for both Basildon Council in Essex and the hundreds of illegal travelling families that have made the land on Dale Farm their home for the past ten years.

Today hundreds of anarchists joined in to side with the illegal land dwellers in a bid for the gypsy families to remain living at Dale Farm and are determined to fight off being removed.

Scores of police have been drafted in from around the country to assist the Council bailiffs in the eviction but have said they will only intervene if there is a threat to public safety.

Tonight in a one-off special Channel 4 documentary which happens to coincide with the first day of a mass eviction on Dale Farm in Crays Hill, Essex. Dispatches’ Deborah Davies takes a closer look at the relationships between travellers and residents affected by encampments and the law.

She will also be asking whether Government proposals to crack down on unauthorised development will change the situation for better or worse, and explores the ever growing issues that  local councils face as they are expected to be given more freedom to decide on just how many places should be allocated for travellers in their areas.

Tonight  at 8pm On Channel 4 Dispatches Investigates: Gypsy Eviction: The Fight For Dale Farm.