Yahoo News Plymouth residents furious at rubbish left by Travellers
Residents have been left angry at the piles of rubbish and discarded items left behind on a city park after Travellers finally moved on.
Two unauthorised encampments caused Plymouth City Council headaches last week - one at Central Park, shortly before the city's Pride in the Park event was set to take place - and Trefusis Park, which had undergone anti-Traveller landscaping just a few years ago.
Those from Central Park were moved on - PlymouthLive understands by police in light of this weekend's forthcoming Pride event - and landed at Milehouse Park and Ride car park. They remained at the car park in front of Home Park for just one night but they have now moved onto the George park and ride on grounds belonging to the NHS, leaving locals to raise concerns about where staff at Derriford Hospital will be able to park in the coming days.
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Residents around Trefusis Park have now taken to various community Facebook pages to voice their dismay and frustration after Travellers left the park on Saturday.
One noted that they had "personally replaced the padlock" while former councillor Charlotte Carlyle, now community campaigner, noted that the bunds and ditches dug along the road and path to prevent access at one part of the park had "gradually been flattened" over the last three years.
Others on one of the social media threads complained that new councillors had not responded to residents concerns and calls for the various bunds and ditches to be improved to prevent repeats of last week's unauthorised encampments.
Many voiced their anger at the mess left behind including a golf cart, parts of a washing machine and dozens of bags of rubbish piled up alongside green waste.
One resident hit upon a key bugbear by those who oppose the Travellers making use of the city's public parks, explaining: "Wherever they camp they're going to be driving over areas where people should be able to walk without fear of being run over.
"Areas where I'd have thought I would be prosecuted if I did the same - like lots of things they seem to get away with. It's as if they have some kind of diplomatic immunity."
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said on Friday evening that the group at Trefusis Park were still on site and a Possession Order was expected to take place sometime after June 17. However, this group moved on Saturday, leaving the council to state that "full clear ups of both sites are now underway" at both Central Park and Trefusis Park.
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