Travellers leave mounds of rubbish
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TRAVELLERS who caused damage to a village green in Widnes have now left the site following police intervention, leaving mounds of rubbish behind them.
Residents said they felt ‘frightened’ by a group of Travellers who turned up at Lovel Terrace in Halebank last week – the latest incident in a recent spate of illegal camp sites to be set up in the region.
More than a dozen caravans, cars and vans appeared at the green from about 4pm on the afternoon of Monday, June 25.
Residents reported criminal damage to fencing around the green and said the group were displaying ‘frightening’ behaviour.
One eyewitness claimed a black car was ‘driving round doing wheelies and tearing up the grass’.
Another described the site as ‘like a holiday camp’ and one said the situation was ‘beyond a joke’.
Images show a large convoy of caravans and broken fencing which residents say was caused by Travellers illegally entering the green.
Kieran Reed, a Halebank parish councillor who met with the travellers and Cheshire police, said the group was asked to move to a transit site in Runcorn but were refusing to do so.
Cllr Reed said: “We are working very closely with the police and Halton Council in order to remove the Travellers to a much better facilitated site built specifically for Travellers over on Warrington Road in Runcorn. We will hopefully have the village green cleared and returned to its normal status today.
“Travellers have to go somewhere and they are part of our community. If they get in touch with Halton council they have specific officers designated to talk to them.”
A spokesperson from Halton Council said an officer visited the illegal encampment with the police, where there where 12 caravans and mobile homes on site, and confirmed they were not willing to move the transit site.
The spokesperson said at the time: “The council’s transit site was offered to the Travellers, but they refused. In a joint visit with the police, a formal notice was issued for the Travellers to leave the site by 3pm. If they fail to comply with the notice, then the police will issue S62 powers and arrange for them to be removed.”
The council has since confirmed that the Travellers left the site quietly.
However, images show that a mountain bike, piles of rubbish and bin bags were left behind.
This is the latest site which travellers appear to have chosen in the region in the last couple of weeks, with residents in Fazerkerly, Edge Lane and Netherton reporting to have seen Travellers illegally camped up on fields in the areas.
An application for travellers to set up a permanent camp near Maghull in Sefton faced heavy backlash from residents, with over 2,000 people signing an online petition against the plans.
Win Lawlor, deputy director of Irish Community Care Merseyside (ICCM), has urged residents not to make ‘kneejerk reactions’ and give Travellers who reside legally a chance to be part of the community.