The infamous unruly tourist family was accused of bad behaviour while holidaying in New Zealand in 2019. Photo / Christine Cornege
The infamous family of unruly travellers deported from New Zealand after dining-and-dashing, shoplifting, littering and abusing people are back in the spotlight after an English council ordered their makeshift caravan park to be shut down.
The head of the family, Patrick Doran, had applied to the council in Stickney, Lincolnshire to use land he owns as a “gypsy/traveller site”, the Daily Mail reported in 2023.
His application was not granted. The council denied his application to put up to 30 static and touring caravans and a toilet block and dayroom on the site in February this year, the Daily Mail said today.
Doran appealed the decision. He said he and his family had a right to settle on the land and complained about a lack of places for travellers – an ethnic and cultural group of itinerants – to live.
But Doran has lost his appeal. His family, along with another who have joined them, have 12 months to leave the site and 15 months to return it to its original state.
The United Kingdom’s planning inspectorate said the land was at risk of flooding and so Doran’s makeshift camp posed a threat to life. A council source had earlier told the Daily Mail Doran’s construction works were already causing run-off and flooding and his septic tank was leaking into a ditch.
Local residents have also complained about the family’s ongoing anti-social behaviour. Others were pleased to see consistency in planning laws, saying Doran should have waited for permission before building anything.
Village locals – who all refused to be named, fearing retaliation – told the Daily Mail Doran let his dogs roam, hosted loud barbecues, lit large bonfires which spewed out thick smoke and threatened villagers.
Doran allegedly threatened a road-patrol woman who confronted him for parking on double-yellow lines, putting his fingers against his head and mimicking a gun. Doran has denied the allegations.
When the family holidayed in New Zealand in 2018 and 2019, their anti-social behaviour stunned the country.
Former Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said Doran and his family were “worse than pigs” when they ran amok around the city and in Hamilton.
The rogue travellers were seen at several cafes and restaurants in central Auckland and on the North Shore, with numerous claims the group walked out without paying for food.
On January 9, 2019, three members of the group went to the Montrose Cafe and ordered more than $110 worth of food before shoving it into an employee and leaving without paying.
An inner-city coffee shop then lodged a complaint with police after a group refused to pay for a chocolate cake and abused the owner.
The Backyard Bar & Restaurant also said the group of 13 caused a ruckus and refused to pay for meals.
“They’re a bunch of a***holes,” the former mayor said.
“These guys are trash. They are leeches.”
Goff called for the police to arrest the tourists: “They’re worse than pigs and I’d like to see them out of the country.”
Speaking exclusively to the Herald at the time, the family said the social media furore which kicked off due to rubbish they left on Takapuna Beach cut their holiday short and they were returning home a week earlier than planned.
However, Immigration New Zealand said the group were issued a deportation notice.
Police and Immigration New Zealand officers were ultimately called to Burger King in Hamilton’s Te Rapa after alleged unruly behaviour from the family.
A staff member said they were at the store the morning of January 15, causing a nuisance, complaining about and asking for free food. The children were also banging coins on the machines as other patrons looked on.
The group remained at the premises for some time before leaving and returning in the afternoon.
Staff decided to call police after they walked through the drive-through.
On the Sunday prior, January 13, several family members were filmed leaving large amounts of their rubbish on Takapuna Beach.
Local woman Krista Curnow filmed them as they left when an 8-year-old boy with the group began abusing her, threatening to “knock your brains out”.
Curnow said she asked the group to pick up their rubbish: “About four or five ladies stood around me ... in a half circle. They were saying they were going to hit me ... and I started walking backwards to get out of it.
“Even Grandma and the child got involved, saying they wanted to punch my head in.”
The incident riled so many Kiwis that a petition was launched to get the family kicked out of the country.
One of the family members told the Herald: “We have to go home early because the New Zealand people are treating my family like shit. We paid a lot of money to come here for a family holiday.”
The whole saga even inspired the New Zealand Opera to create a new stage show titled The Unruly Tourists, which premiered in 2023.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.