Actress and human rights campaigner Vanessa Redgrave has said “lives will be ruined” if the planned eviction of hundreds of Irish travellers from Britain’s largest illegal site goes ahead.
Ms Redgrave took time off from filming the movie Song for Marion to visit Dale Farm near Basildon, Essex, where more than 80 traveller families face eviction.
Planning for a major policing operation is under way after eviction notices were served on 52 unauthorised plots following a decade-long planning row.
The deadline to leave voluntarily expires tonight and a forced eviction is expected to follow next month.
Ms Redgrave said she hoped violence could be avoided and that "humanity would triumph".
"It's a day on which I have great hope that this strong, wise, warm and gentle community will have their rights protected and will not have their rights disintegrated," she added.
The Oscar-winning actress said: "The whole situation is really about planning - there's no crime that has been committed.
"Evicting these families would be totally unreasonable and irresponsible. The council has said there are no alternatives but there are alternatives.
"The people of Dale Farm will go if there is an alternative site provided for them but Basildon Council will not sit down with these people and discuss that.
Families at the former scrapyard, many of whom have connections to Rathkeale, Co Limerick, own their land but many do not have planning permission despite repeated applications.
Ms Redgrave's visit comes ahead of a test case tomorrow which travellers hope will halt the eviction.
Mary Flynn (72) who lives at Beauty Drive, Dale Farm, and is severely ill, will apply for an injunction to prevent her eviction at the High Court.
Two other planning applications have been lodged in the hope of buying time for the travellers.
Jake Fulton has joined 150 activists at Camp Constant, set up by supporters on the site. They promise to support the travellers through non-violent resistance.
He said: "This could be a turning point for travelling communities across the country.
"If Dale Farm residents succeed it could offer hope to hundreds but if they fail it could simply encourage councils to follow the example of Basildon Council."
Although supporters are hopeful a peaceful solution can be found, residents believe the eviction could turn ugly.
Mother-of-two Mary O'Brien has lived on the site for 10 years. She said: "If they come in with bulldozers we will put up a fight.
"We are part of the community and we do no harm but there is a small element which is determined to see the back of us.
"Why should we just stand by and see our homes destroyed?
Basildon Council said Ms Redgrave's visit changed nothing and negotiations were still ongoing to find a solution.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "The British courts have found that the developments at Dale Farm are in breach of planning law and Basildon Council is within its rights to evict travellers from the site.
"It has taken 10 years of failed negotiations and legal process to reach this point, and the unprecedented level of unauthorised development on green belt land has severely damaged community relations."
Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has been called upon to intervene in the dispute while UN experts on housing and minorities said recently they were "deeply concerned" about the planned evictions.