Row over toilets sees transgender woman evicted from Hayling

A TRANSGENDER woman is facing eviction from her holiday home after falling out with the site owners.
Tilly Simmonds with her rainbow flagTilly Simmonds with her rainbow flag
Tilly Simmonds with her rainbow flag

Tilly Simmonds has spent eight months of the year at Fleet Farm Campsite, Hayling, since 2008.

But a row erupted over her use of the female toilets and because she put a rainbow flag – the international symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride – up in her window.

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The row, last month, ended with the 57-year-old retired systems engineer punching the site owner Colin Good – which she claims was in self-defence because he would not leave her caravan following an argument.

But now Ms Simmonds, whose main home is in London, has been interviewed by police after Mr Good reported the altercation.

She fears she may be charged with assault after being asked to attend another interview with police next week. No arrests have been made.

Solicitors have written to her warning her she faces eviction from the site in Yew Tree Road.

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Ms Simmonds said: ‘My caravan is my sanctuary, it’s my place of peace.

‘Everyone goes down there for peace and quiet.

‘It’s a completely different pace of life by the sea. I would be devastated to lose that.’

Ms Simmonds, who is on disability living allowance due to a back injury, said she uses the ladies facilities but discreetly and only when other women are not around.

She added: ‘It is my right in law to do this because I’m male to female transitioning.

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‘I was told the men don’t like me using theirs and likewise the women.

‘But no-one, apart from the warden, complained to me about it.

Ms Simmonds has been living as a woman since 2013 and has undergone comprehensive assessments to ensure she is ready for gender reassignment.

She has passed the tests and should start the treatment next year.

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She says she reluctantly took down the rainbow flag because Mr Good said it is classed as political and not allowed.

A spokesman for the caravan site said Mr Good would not speak about the incident while criminal and legal proceedings were imminent.

But in a letter sent to Ms Simmonds and seen by The News, Mr Good said: ‘Your outburst today was totally unacceptable.

‘You don’t seem to realise that you are staying on a family campsite where people go for their holidays.

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‘You keep stating you’ve got rights for this, rights for that.

‘As I have stated earlier, the only rights you’ve got on a family campsite is at the owner’s discretion to keep a happy family atmosphere so people can enjoy their holidays.’

It continued: ‘I’m simply not prepared to put up with such deluded, offensive behaviour on my site.’