ELDERLY residents say they will spend their last years living in fear of being turfed out of their homes after planners rejected plans to turn an Alvington holiday caravan site into a residential site.

Some residents at the five-acre Clanna Caravan Park have been living there for around 15 years despite the site having a condition which states it needs to be used for holiday purposes only.

Residents had their hopes to remove this restriction crushed at a Forest of Dean District Council planning meeting last Tuesday.

Anne Thomas, who spoke on behalf of Clanna residents, called for planners to remove its holiday status.

She said: “Please allow us to live without fear for the future which what will be the last few years of our lives. We came here on the promise that our holiday properties would become residential.

“As ten homes already are, we believe this as every site in the Forest is residential.”

Local councillor UKIP Jim Simpson spoke in favour of the proposals and said: “They are generally elderly people and right now they are living in fear.

“Fear of being thrown out into the streets with nowhere to go.”

Cllr Lynn Sterry (Lab, Cinderford West), who proposed rejecting the removal of conditions, said she could not support the residents’ wishes and added: “It would be a dereliction to this council if we did anything different because if we did everybody’s field would be up for auction.”