“We took it to the European Court, we went all the way with it”

In August 2000, Jim Connors was evicted from the lawful occupation of a public Gypsy and Traveller site at Cottingley Springs in Leeds. In May 2004, the case Connors V UK was bought to the European Court of Human Rights and it was ruled that in the eviction, Jim’s ‘right to family and private life’ as set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been breached. This landmark ruling found for the first time that Council of Europe member states have a ‘positive obligation… to facilitate the Gypsy way of life.’ This case gave Gypsies and Travellers a better foundation to challenge unlawful evictions.

For our series, 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants': Stories from people who have challenged injustice faced by Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and nomadic communities, we've brought together the stories of inspiring people who all stood up and challenged the status quo – in both big and small ways to make the UK a better place to live for nomadic and Roma communities. Have you got a story? Take part, filming your own story and share with the hashtag #ImStanding

We would like to express our sincere thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund who made it possible to capture these films, and to all the National Lottery players who make funding for heritage projects like this possible.