James Nolan (image courtesy of NZ Police)JAMES Nolan, one of the Travellers who took part in a disruptive tour of New Zealand in 2019 was buried in Teddington southwest London last week.
The extravagant funeral was attended by Travellers from across Britain and Ireland, paying their respects.
A silver gilded carriage was drawn through the streets of Teddington and hundreds of mourners followed the cortege to the graveside.
Nolan, aged 29, was found dead earlier this month. No further details on the circumstances surrounding his death have been released.
In 2019 the family of Travellers, labelled "unruly tourists" were accused of many acts of anti-social behaviour while on holiday in New Zealand. The New Zealand Herald says these acts included dumping rubbish and empty alcohol bottles on a beach, and threatening violence to those who protested at their behaviour. The family left trails of destruction through Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. There were claims of intimidation and confrontations with council officials, police, locals and journalists. After an incident at Te Rapa Burger King, the unruly tourists were banned from all 83 Burger Kings across New Zealand.
James Nolan was accused of assault after allegedly driving his car at a young woman filming the family’s activities. He was also charged with dangerous driving and fraud, but fled the country before he could be brought to court.
One report said that the group mostly spoke with Irish accents, but they were travelling on British passports.
James Nolan was arrested on February 19, 2019, with Tommy Ward, 26, and William Donohue, 25, over allegations of carrying out a roofing scam, according to the Daily Mail. The offences focused on elderly people in the Auckland area being defrauded off thousands of pounds in roof repairs scam.
Nolan managed to flee the country before the court case, but Ward and Donohue appeared in Auckland District Court in June 2019 where they pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining money by deception. They were deported back to the UK.
Meanwhile, brothers Johnny, 30, and Patrick Quinn, 27, also believed to be part of the group, were deported back to the UK for defrauding people out of £16,800 as part of the same scam, according to the Daily Mail.
Immigration New Zealand issued a deportation notice and the rest of the family were subsequently escorted out of the country.
