The arrival of 1,500 Travellers, who claim to be from one extended family originating in Limerick, to celebrate Christmas and the new millennium has brought a surprise economic boom to the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.
The caravans began arriving in the Norfolk town on December 23rd as the family gathered from Ireland, Britain and Europe to meet, in some cases, for the first time in 15 years.
Despite the fears of some local residents that the Travellers might cause trouble, and a confrontation between police in riot gear and some of the Travellers on Christmas Day, the atmosphere is so relaxed that shops in the area which were closed at the end of the summer season have reopened for the business.
It was reported yesterday that the Travellers said they would spend up to u2 £2 million sterling in the area during the Christmas and New Year period. The Travellers claim to be cousins and second cousins from the Sheridan, O'Flynn and O'Brien families.
The manager of a seafront fish bar, Mr Trevor Girling, told reporters: "People are coming from miles around and the place is packed. We have never known a Christmas like it."
The friendly invasion of the South Beach promenade was organised after several members of the extended family had attended a wedding in the area during the summer and chose Great Yarmouth as the setting for the next family celebration.
The family each year chooses a different resort in Britain and Ireland to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.
Not everyone in the town is happy to see the arrival of such a large crowd of people during what is usually a very quiet time in the resort. "No Travellers" signs have gone up outside some pubs on the seafront, although one publican insisted the rule was company policy and was designed to keep the local people happy. Earlier this week some of the Travellers said the police had harassed them. On Christmas Day police arrested one of the Travellers after he crashed a Mercedes car on the seafront.
But all the Travellers have insisted that they will leave the area within a few days of celebrating the new millennium.
One of the Travellers said that the people of the town had misunderstood their reasons for choosing to visit Great Yarmouth: "It is about a different culture. People do not really want to understand. We are not going to cause any trouble; we are just here for the holiday. What do they want all these police here for? Are they trying to provoke trouble?"