Final farewell for infamous British gipsy: Hundreds of travellers attend lavish funeral of 29-year-old who died three years after his family went on notorious wrecking spree during family holiday in New Zealand
- Notorious traveller James Anthony Nolan has died at the age of 29, say family
- Relatives, including his sister-in-law, have paid tributes on social media to Nolan
- Family members held event in Teddington, London, to mark his death this month
- Hundreds of well-wishers paid their respects at his memorial service this week
Hundreds of mourners came out to pay their respects for a notorious British traveller, who has died at the age of 29, three years after a chaotic family trip to New Zealand hit the headlines.
James Anthony Nolan, whose extended family infamously wreaked havoc across New Zealand in 2019, is believed to have died in the UK earlier this month.
Family members held a memorial event to mark Nolan’s death in Teddington, south west London, earlier this week.
A silver gilded carriage was drawn through the streets as mourners followed in its path.
It comes three years after New Zealanders launched a petition to have the family kicked out of the country after accusing them of causing chaos.
In one incident, Auckland locals accused the family of leaving leaving beer bottles and piles of rubbish on a busy beach, before a child threatened to ‘knock the brains out’ of locals who confronted them.
Scores of well-wishers came out to pay their respects in a memorial service for British traveller James Anthony Nolan, who has died aged 29
A decorative hearse was pushed through the streets as mourners followed in its path
Grieving friends and family lined the funeral cortege with their memorial in tribute to Mr Nolan
They also claimed the family – who became known as the ‘unruly tourists’ – left a cafe without paying, damaged their rented apartment and stole a journalist’s phone.
Nolan himself was accused of assault after allegedly driving his car at a young woman who filmed his family during the incident.
But he was never saw justice over the allegations, having escaped the country by using another person’s passport.
His family’s stint of mayhem across New Zealand led to the group being labelled ‘a**sholes’, ‘trash’ and ‘worse than pigs’ by Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
And a petition to have them removed amassed more than 2,500 signatures from furious residents.
Yet, on their return to the UK, Nolan’s family sensationally claimed they were the victims and moaned that they had had a ‘holiday from hell’ and had been ‘tortured and condemned’.
Grieving relatives walked alongside the gilded carriage as it made its way to Mr Nolan’s final resting place
Relatives in the United Kingdom posted tributes on social media to James Anthony Nolan (pictured), leader of the controversial group that notoriously caused chaos while holidaying in New Zealand
Nolan is pictured, right, with a family member. New Zealand Customs released a statement after news broke that Nolan had managed to evade authorities
The infamous group were accused of trashing a beach (pictured), leaving a cafe without paying, damaging their apartment and allegedly stealing a journalist’s phone in a trip which saw the Mayor of Auckland label them ‘worse than pigs’
In one incident, Auckland locals accused the family of leaving leaving beer bottles and piles of rubbish on a busy beach, before a child threatened to ‘knock the brains out’ of locals who confronted them
Family members held a memorial event to mark Nolan’s death in Teddington, south west London , earlier this week
Meanwhile, Nolan was charged with fraud, assault and dangerous driving offences in New Zealand.
He managed to flee the country on another person’s passport before being brought to court. He used an eGate to scan a fraudulent passport at Auckland International Airport.
Despite being flagged for further checks, amember of staff failed to realise he was not the same person – and allowed Nolan on the flight.
At the time, customs Minister Kris Faafoi blamed ‘human error’ and said it was a ‘very rare’ occurrence.
Nolan had been accused of driving his car at a young woman who filmed him and his extended family when they left piles of rubbish at an Auckland beach in 2019.
Krista Curnow, whose video of the picnic scene, featuring an aggressive young boy in a sunhat, went global, alleged a man had driven at her as she tried to film the car’s number plate.
The incident unfolded at Auckland’s Takapuna Beach on New Zealand’s North Island.
A petition to have the British group (some members pictured) removed from New Zealand amassed more than 2,500 signatures
Footage showed a young boy, wearing a wide-brimmed Bunnings Warehouse hat, approach Ms Curnow, telling her: ‘I’ll knock your brains out’
The travellers are pictured loading into their car in Levin in New Zealand on January 19
Ward and Donohue are expected to be deported shortly after they are sentenced, bringing the saga to an end (pictured, members of the clan are spoke to by police in January)
The extended traveller family were responsible for a wave of complaints and alleged crimes across New Zealand last summer that saw them labelled ‘worse than pigs’ by New Zealand’s Mayor
Ms Curnow said the group of about 12 tourists, who she said spoke with an Irish accent, turned violent when she asked them to clean their mess as they left the beach.
‘Their response was basically if we have a problem then we can pick it up and that that’s what the council is for,’ Ms Curnow said at the time.
‘Their response was basically if we have a problem then we can pick it up and that that’s what the council is for,’ Ms Curnow said
‘I approached the family to ask again if they could not disrespect our country while visiting and pick up their rubbish.
‘They turned violent and even grandma and the child got involved saying they wanted to punch my head in.’
Footage showed a young boy, wearing a wide-brimmed Bunnings Warehouse hat, approach Ms Curnow, telling her: ‘I’ll knock your brains out’.
‘The mouth on that young boy – absolutely disgusting! What kind of role models are the parents allowing this sort of behaviour,’ Ms Curnow said.
Four adults in the group were served with 28-day deportation liability notices by New Zealand’s immigration service before they left to return to the UK.
Meanwhile, Nolan was arrested on February 19, 2019, with Tommy Ward, 26, and William Donohue, 25, over allegations of carrying out a roofing scam.
The incident involved a series of alleged cases of elderly people in the Auckland area being defrauded off thousands of pounds they handed over for roof repairs.
While Nolan dodged a court appearance, Ward and Donohue pair appeared in Auckland District Court in June 2019 where they pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining 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.
Nolan ran away from Auckland District Court when he was given bail on January 25
Nolan was arrested on February 19, 2019, with Tommy Ward (pictured left), 26, and William Donohue (pictured right), 25, over allegations of carrying out a roofing scam. While Nolan dodged a court appearance, Ward and Donohue pair appeared in Auckland District Court in June 2019 where they pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining by deception. They were deported back to the UK.
During their hearing the court was told how one Auckland resident was charged more than £9,000 for repairs to his chimney, which was left dismantled.
James Quinn, 58, was deported for his role in the same scam the week before.
Johnny and Patrick’s lawyers had sought to argue they had been unfairly linked to the infamous family, but police identified a number of the roofing scammers with ties to the family, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The pair paid back less than half of what they owe for their scams which Judge David Sharp described as a ‘very serious breach of trust for vulnerable people,’ the paper reported.
Johnny pleaded guilty to four fraud charges, while Patrick admitted five. They were sentenced to six months in prison but were deported within a day.
After Nolan and his family’s headline-grabbing holiday they gained more notoriety after landing back in the UK moaning that they had had a ‘holiday from hell’ and had been ‘tortured and condemned’.
Meanwhile, relatives back in the UK have since flooded social media with tributes for Nolan, who is believed to have died on August 1.
No details on the circumstances surrounding his death have been revealed.
Nolan’s sister-in-law, Lulu, paid tribute to him in a social media post, saying his death had not yet sunk in.
Relatives back in the UK have since flooded social media with tributes for Nolan, who is believed to have died on August 1. No details on the circumstances surrounding his death have been revealed. Nolan’s sister-in-law, Lulu, paid tribute to him in a social media post, saying his death had not yet sunk in
Another photograph shared by family members showed a balloon with the words ‘Love and Miss You, Michaela’
Another, paying tribute to Nolan (pictured here on a funeral book dedicated to him), wrote: ‘Me (sic) heart is broke even lookin at these children Jimmy u where a character never forget u I hope ur at peace a gentleman give ur poor children and wife the strength they need at this hard time.’
‘My big lovely brother Jimmy Nolan as much as we always had argument been there all my life loved him like a big brother best daddy to his big lovely children and best husband to my sister,’ the post read.
Another family member wrote: ‘Thinking and praying for Jimmy’s wife Mekala and other children and Maggie and all the family
‘God give use (sic) strength and courage.’
Another wrote: ‘Me (sic) heart is broke even lookin at these children Jimmy u where a character never forget u I hope ur at peace a gentleman give ur poor children and wife the strength they need at this hard time.’
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