Teenager bitten by dog believed to be from Walsall travellers site
A teenager was bitten by a dog believed to be from an illegal travellers camp parked at a derelict former housing estate in Walsall.
The 15-year-old schoolboy was taken to hospital and treated for a leg wound after the attack near the site off the main Goscote Lane.
Caravans settled on the former Goscote estate more than a week ago and an order has been issued for them to move on by today.
Police were called just before 7.40am yesterday following reports of a teenager being bitten. He was discharged from hospital later in the day with what has been described as a 'minor leg wound'.
Landowners Walsall Housing Group have served the notice on travellers who have been accused of playing a 'cat and mouse' game by a ward councillor.
Two camps with a total of nine caravans and associated vehicles were first reported off Goscote Lodge Crescent on May 12.
Some moved on but Walsall Council had to seek a court order forcing five caravans from the land.
They then moved on to the grass land, which is the responsibility of Walsall Housing Group, so a fresh notice to vacate the area needed to be prepared.
The borough has been plagued by illegal traveller camps, with more than 60 recorded last year, at a cost of £30,000 to the council.
Blakenall councillor Pete Smith said he was concerned a dog had apparently b een free to roam.
"They play this cat and mouse game. Because the 'highways' on the old Goscote estate is council-owned but the land where the houses once stood is WHG land, the travellers there can easily play a game of moving from one ownership to the other," he said.
Alan Haynes, technical specialist at Walsall Housing Group, said: "In keeping with standard procedure, notice was served on a group of travellers who set up at a site at the far end of Goscote Lodge Crescent on Tuesday.
"This informed them they had 24 hours to leave before we begin court proceedings to gain a warrant to remove them from the site. We take the unlawful occupation of land we own very seriously and will work as quickly as possible to remove those who do so."
It comes after a five year-old boy was hurt after being being attacked by a dog in his own home last weekend.
The boy suffered injuries to his arm in Priestley Road, Beechdale. It is believed the dog was stabbed in a bid to stop the attack.
