Fury over travellers' £25,000 clean-up bill for Wolverhampton council

The popular park area off Kitchen Lane, Wednesfield, resembled a rubbish tip after travellers smashed through bollards at two entrance points and spent six days there at the end of last month.

A review into 'the whole sorry story' has now been ordered by a councillor, who wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Clothing, bags of household rubbish, gas canisters, human waste and dozens of cardboard boxes were left strewn across the site, while a dilapidated caravan was also left abandoned.

The vast grassy expanse, which features a wooded area, is considered a beauty spot by locals and is popular with dog walkers and families.

The site is now back to its former glory after 10 staff spent two days clearing up the mess, removing £25,000 from Wolverhampton council's shrinking coffers in the process.

Wednesfield North councillor Phil Bateman has called for a review into the issue, which is likely to take place during September.

But residents have reacted with shock at the huge expense of the clean-up operation, with many questioning why taxpayers should be forced to foot the bill for the incursion.

"It is a lot of money and it doesn't seem fair that we should be left to pay for the mess they caused," said Susan Brady, aged 60, from Kitchen Road.

"They broke the posts to get in and were there for a week, but no action was taken against them. It seems ridiculous that nothing could be done to move them on sooner.

"If they had been moved on after a couple of days there would have been nowhere near as much mess.

"It's a worry that they could easily come back again. Because it's quite wide open there are a lot of access points. It doesn't matter what barriers you put up, if they want to get in, they will."

Mrs Brady, who usually walks her dogs at the site, said she went elsewhere during the travellers' stay due to concerns about the behaviour of some of the group.

"They were going into the woods and defecating," she added. "It was horrible. If we take our dogs over there we have to clear up the mess, but they seem to do what they like."

Paul Cluett, 45, also from Kitchen Lane, said: "They caused a lot of damage to a lovely area. It has cost a lot of money to make it right. They should be tracked down and made to pay that money back.

"Why should it come down to the taxpayer? You wouldn't mind if they cleaned up after themselves but what they left behind was absolutely disgusting.

"This had a big impact on the community. When they were here, two girls asked me to walk them past the site because they were scared to go past on their own.

"We had to put up with them for a week and now its down to us to pay for it."

Sylvia Heighway, 77, said: "They caused a lot of trouble when they were here and the mess they left behind was dreadful.

"For taxpayers to pay for it is an insult really. They have to look at changing the laws to stop this sort of thing from happening. This is a lovely area and the last thing you want is for this to happen again."

Councillor Bateman said: "The travellers could have been moved on sooner than they were. The public need to be confident that the police and the local authority are working together when incidents of this type occur."

Under UK law police and local authorities have discretionary powers to deal with traveller and gipsy encampments.

But they can only be acted upon when certain conditions exist, as trespass on land is a civil matter and is not considered a crime.

Police can activate powers under section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to move on trespassers, while councils have to obtain a county court order.

Both strategies can take up to 10 days to arrange.