Newcastle sports pitch left 'like toilet' after travellers' visit

Cowgate Sports Club is home to local cricket and football teams

A sports pitch in Newcastle was "used as a toilet" after travellers set up camp on a neighbouring field, councillors have been told.

Travellers arrived at McKendrick Villas in late-July and left last weekend after court action by the council.

Complaints have now been made about human faeces, broken glass, and other rubbish left at Cowgate Sports Club.

Newcastle City Council said it had taken steps to re-secure access to the club.

It is the second time in the space of a few weeks a group of travellers have arrived at the Cowgate site, with the eviction of the first group sparking a row in which a city councillor accused the local authority of being "hostile" towards the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community.

Labour councillor Lesley Storey said the authority was "in denial of a whole community's needs and way of life".

But the Labour council said an assessment found there was no demand for specific sites for travellers and it saw "no need to change that now".

An earlier group of travellers were also evicted from a field near McKendrick Villas

However, the most recent was described as "more anti-social" by local residents.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Caroline Adams, whose partner is the Cowgate Cricket Club's groundsman, said "the council should be securing that ground properly" after two incidents in a month.

She claimed the wicket was covered in "disgusting" faeces, broken bottles were found lying around and locks had been broken to gain access to the site.

'Tough situation'

Majid Latif, the cricket club's secretary, also said the pitches were treated "as a toilet".

He added: "It was a tough situation - I don't know what the council could have done.

"Should they have put some toilet blocks there, or would that just encourage more people to come?"

He added: "As soon as the travellers were gone on Sunday, the council and police moved straight in to secure the site and then they met with us on Monday.

"They have given us reassurances that they are going to secure it so that it will not be possible for travellers to get on that field."

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said when the group arrived, officers from the community safety team liaised with them and also looked at the site.

"Upon inspection, there was found to be significant amounts of discarded waste at the site, the area had been allowed to deteriorate, and unfortunately mess had been allowed to spread to an adjoining sports field," they said.

"Following their departure, steps were taken to re-secure access to help prevent further occurrences."