Residents bolt gate after park altercation

Two residents have been injured in an altercation after travellers entered a park in Worcester

A community in Worcester have taken security into their own hands after two residents claim they were assaulted by a group of travellers.

The two people were injured and a vehicle was vandalised after a resident parked his car to prevent access to neighbouring Power Park in St Peter's on Sunday.

Those living in the area also used heavy duty bicycle locks and screws on the park's height restriction gate.

West Mercia Police has said it is investigating the incident with "enquiries ongoing", while Worcester City Council said the security measures around its open spaces were "under review".

Billy Welch, a spokesperson for the traveller community, stressed attacks like Sunday's are "extremely rare", but said due to a lack of legal traveller pitches it was something that appeared to be getting worse.

He also stressed there were "two sides to every story".

Councillor John Renshaw, of St Peter's Parish Council, said: "As soon as the last of the travellers left on Sunday evening, some of the local residents came out.

"One of them put a lock on the gate, another one wrapped a heavy duty cycle chain around the gate, and another put some screws through.

"If any of [the travellers] try to come back they're going to have a hard time getting back into the park."

Mr Renshaw said anyone trying to access the park now would have a "hard time"

Discussing the attack, Mr Renshaw said one man suffered a "deep gash" underneath his left eye.

"The medics who treated him said had that gash been two or three centimetres higher, he'd have probably lost his left eye."

'Two sides to every story'

Mr Renshaw has now started calls for an "urgent look at security" for open spaces and warned that "something needs to be done".

Mr Welch added: "Some of [the travellers] had got onto the park and then someone parked their vehicle in front of the gate stopping them from leaving, and they wanted to leave.

"And apparently they had only turned up there for a few days for a funeral, there was a funeral a few miles up the road, that's what they had come for.

"There was nowhere else for them to stay but when they tried to leave they were blocked, that is when the altercation happened."