Travellers camp next to children's playground in Cannock

A small group of travellers has set up camp at a park in Cannock.

The party of around six caravans arrived on Monday evening, when they were towed by cars and vehicles onto the green space on the corner of Barnard Way and Cannock Road.

The vehicles parked just metres away from a children's playground on the field, which is overlooked by several houses.

One neighbour, Melanie Hall, took to Twitter to voice her frustration, writing: "Get the travellers off our park area police didn't even stop them getting on there.

"Would be better if we didn't have travellers stopping us from using our park."

It comes as travellers continue to frustrate residents and authorities across the Black Country by regularly parking on council-owned land.

In the last week dozens of caravans have turned up at playing fields near primary schools in Dudley and Wolverhampton, with reports of anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping following their arrival.

Dudley South MP Mike Wood has called for tougher police powers to remove the camps, while a spokesman for Wolverhampton council spoke of their frustration at having to wait nine days for a court hearing to evict a camp in Penn.

Police also had to shoot a dog dead at the Windsor Avenue playing fields after reports of it acting aggressively.