Three camps in three months: Residents' dismay as travellers return to Walsall field

Caravans pitched up at Hawthorn Road in Shelfield on Monday to the dismay of nearby residents.

Walsall Council has confirmed it is a different group of occupants this time.

An enforcement notice issued by the council is still on display at the site from the last illegal encampment which set up between August 21 and 25.

But it was the travellers who occupied the plot in June who caused uproar among locals.

They left a trail of destruction including cut down trees and human mess.

Stephen Mills, of Hawthorn Road, said: "They must have came late afternoon on Monday, there's quite a few around the back of the trees.

"I would say there are between six to eight of them, definitely.

"So far it is just the usual problems with noise and dogs barking.

"But it is the mess they leave behind when they eventually go.

"Last time they cut trees down at the back, because they do gardening service felling trees.

"But instead of disposing of them properly they just leave them there in a horrendous mess.

"They have got the generators going and there are kids and dogs.

"And of course they use the place as a toilet."

A resident from Chestnut Drive opposite the site who did not wish to be named, also confirmed there was human waste left behind.

He said: "They are a nuisance.

"I walked my dog over there and it was everywhere.

"There are also bog roll and all sorts.

"They left a lot of mess last time it was disgusting you couldn't walk over there.

"But to be fair the council came and cleaned it up."

He added: "The noise is a pain. At 11 o'clock at night there are kids running around on the field.

"The problem now is that they know they can come there.

"They know the law and how long they have got before they have to move.

"You aren't going to beat them unless you put barriers up."

Council spokesman Ian Smart confirmed officers were seeking welfare assessments on the occupants at the site.

On Wednesday the authority applied for a court order to remove travellers from George Rose Park in Darlaston.

Around ten caravans arrived on Friday allegedly smashing two gates to gain entry to the site on Wolverhampton Street.