Dale Farm: Photos of the Fiery Evicition in Essex

A picture is all that is left a woman's home at Dale Farm, the now-evicted Irish Traveller community in Essex, England that was cleared in a controversial and violent manner on Wednesday.

Her home, a caravan or trailer, was set ablaze like so many others. And tonight, she will be homeless in another sense; she was evicted from the community where she had lived with 81 other traveller families.

The photo has become a resonant symbol of the relationship between the traveller community and England. Considered an ethnic group under British law, the travellers are a nomadic group with Irish origins who gather at caravan sites.

These settlements are often illegal, prompting local officials to evict them when deemed necessary. Although the travellers are protected under the Caravan Sites Act of 1968, baillifs in Basildon have passed the legislation needed to move the 500 or so people at Dale Farm.

Some of the Dale Farm residents packed up and drove away days and weeks before the eviction, but others stayed to protect the land.

In the end, the protest -- which turned into a riot -- didn't do much good. Police were able to break through barriers and remove people from their homes.