Rubbish left by travellers
Pictures showing the ‘disgusting mess’ allegedly left behind by travellers in Oaklands Park have caused concern.
Pictures showing the ‘disgusting mess’ allegedly left behind by a group of travellers have caused concern.
Photos sent to the Observer by a Summersdale resident show rubbish strewn across Oaklands Park.
The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was alerted to rubbish while out walking his dog on Saturday.
He said: “I’ve seen them there before. It’s a site they have been to before and they left behind a disgusting mess.
“Furniture, children’s toys, clothes, litter, food wrappers and around the corner is a place they were using as a toilet.”
The man described the ‘toilet’ area as ‘smelly and offensive’ and said there was ‘evidence of human faeces’.
He added: “And on the site that is next door to Chichester’s famous theatre — it’s not a great advert for the city. I thought ‘not again’. No-one would mind if they cleared up after themselves.
“Normally when they park on council property they move them on quite quickly. It’s private owners that have a lot more difficulty.”
The Summersdale resident believed the travellers had been based in Lavant before moving to Hunter’s Race then onto Oaklands Park.
A spokesman for Chichester District Council, which is responsible for the site, said: “There were travellers on Oaklands Park but they have now moved on. We have cleared the site of all rubbish.”
It comes after travellers with 16 vehicles reportedly moved onto Tangmere Airfield.
According to Andrew Irwin, chairman of Tangmere Parish Council, the 16 vehicles arrived on Tuesday afternoon after gaining access to the site via Fulmar Way. He believed that West Sussex County Council was aware of the situation.
According to the chairman, the travellers had previously been moved on from The Angmering School in Angmering, where they had pitched up on the school fields on its sports day. This has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Mr Irwin said he was ‘disappointed there was not any intelligence passed on that there was an impending eviction’.
He added: “We are doubling our efforts to make sure our recreation field in Malcolm Road is secure.”
A Sussex Police spokesman said it had records of an incident on Friday night at the site but could not comment further.