Travellers at illegal camp complain about litter
A Group of travellers have been accused of having an ‘absolute cheek’ after they complained that the litter at their illegal camp is a health and safety risk.
Up to eight caravans and other vehicles rolled on to a site, close to the Langage power station, in Plymouth, on Tuesday.
But when a local newspaper reporter went to investigate, several mothers complained that the area was full of litter and said the council should clear it up.
One woman said: ‘The council people need to do what they’re paid to do. All this rubbish could make my kids ill.’
But the irony of the comment was not lost on locals, who pointed out that travellers don’t pay council tax, so don’t have the right to complain about poor services.
‘Pay taxes, then you have the right to moan!’
One commentator claimed he had to check the date to make sure it was not April 1, while another said the travellers had ‘more neck than a herd of giraffes’.
Others were simply furious that the women had the temerity to complain.
Writing on Facebook, Kimberley Conibeer said travellers had left a terrible mess on another site, at Prince Rock Field in the city, when they left last week.
‘dog and horse poo all over the place, hedge cuttings, bits of trees and wood in big piles… a whole roof’s worth of smashed slate tiles in bags, bits of paper, magazines, nappies chucked over the fence on to the train track,’ she posted.
‘And they want to talk about safety for their kids… go buy a house and pay taxes like everyone else, then you have the right to moan about mess! Absolute cheek of it.’
david Lister wrote: ‘They are complaining about the mess their community has made. This is how they live. They should be used to it. As for the council doing the job they “are paid for”, well it sure as hell isn’t that community paying them, they avoid all taxes. Councils would have more money for cleaning if so much didn’t have to be spent on evicting freeloaders from illegal sites.’
devon County Council said: ‘We’re aware of this encampment and will be visiting the group to establish their intentions.’
Over the past few weeks, Plymouth has been struggling with an influx of travellers, who have been moving from one illegal camp to another.
Earlier this week, travellers also complained after staff from the city’s Stonehouse social club barricaded gates with a vehicle to stop more travellers moving on to their car park.
One traveller mother said: ‘The police turned up and we told them this was dangerous because if there was an emergency and we had to take our kids to hospital we wouldn’t be able to get out. The policeman said there was nothing he could do.’
The caravans left the next day.