Vagrants settle right in at park
A CLUSTER of vagrants who have set up home in a suburban Townsville park have started moving furniture on to the grounds, to the ire of surrounding residents.
It is understood a large group of up to 20 people has been treating Aitkenvale Park like a living room.
A two- seater couch, a mattress, a stash of belongings and even a bag of supplies hanging from a tree branch have been moved into the park.
Metres away under a separate tree is another mattress.
“They drink, they swear, they s-- t in the park, they had sex in the park the other day,” a nearby resident said.
“It’s never- ending, it’s awful.”
Terry West, president of the Saints Eagles Souths Football Club, whose young players train at Aitkenvale Park and have a clubhouse there, said it had also been an issue for them.
“It’s certainly been an issue for the past couple of years but it has become progressively worse,” she said.
“It’s not a good environment for players to be arriving for training and have intoxicated people in that vicinity.
“We would appreciate more being done in that respect.
“As the locals have said, it’s not good to have mattresses there and people camping in the area. It would be better for them to be housed elsewhere.”
Ms West said Townsville City Council and local police had been helpful in assisting the club, although she believed the vagrants moved to other parks in the area and simply returned later.
The resident across the road, who chose not to be named, said she did not know what to do.
“We’re not happy at all. It’s awful … that’s the general consensus,” she said.
“They can get loud, and the language is awful, but I don’t know what to do.”
A spokesman said Townsville City Council was aware of people camping in the park.
“Council does patrol the area and has previously set up mobile CCTV cameras to pass on information to Queensland Police,” the spokesman said.
“However, council does not have the powers to force people to leave the park – only the police can do that.”