Traveller encampment mess leaves council with clean-up bill

Gosport council cleared 70 bags of rubbish from Brookers Playing Fields

A council says it has been left with a large bill to clean up the mess left behind after a traveller encampment.

Residents said about a dozen caravans occupied Brookers Playing Fields in Gosport for 11 days after arriving at the end of May.

The council cleared 70 bags of rubbish from the site last week.

Police have been urged to take a more "robust" approach, but the force said it only takes action when considered "proportionate, lawful and necessary".

Roger Miles has written to the council to demand "telescopic security bollards" are installed by the field

Residents also claimed fires were started and damage was caused to a pavilion.

Roger Miles, 81, has got 200 people to sign a petition asking for more security at the site.

He said people were "utterly fed up of the annual invasion".

Gosport mayor Martin Pepper said he was aware of the "concern" from many residents who "often discuss the issue on Facebook rather than with the appropriate authority".

Mr Pepper added the fields were a "more suitable site" than many others due to its relative isolation.

According to Councillor Stephen Philpott, the pavilion was damaged during the encampment

But Councillor Stephen Philpott described the issue as "incessant", with people "experiencing noise and nuisance almost every night until 3am".

"Judging by the level of criminal damage and human excrement in the field, it's simply not good enough and I'll be urging police to take a more consistent and robust approach in the future," he added.

Chief Superintendent Clare Jenkins, area commander, said: "Officers... will visit an encampment at least three times a day to make an assessment as to the number of people on site, their welfare, and the impact on the local community."

The force said it would consider factors such as the position and history of encampments on the site, whether it impacts amenities and related community impact.

The issue will be discussed at a full council meeting on Thursday.

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