Travellers took over our picturesque beauty spot with 30 caravans, dug HOLE to use as toilet & left piles of rubbish
CARAVAN FURY Travellers took over our picturesque beauty spot with 30 caravans, dug HOLE to use as toilet & left piles of rubbish
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DISGRUNTLED locals have hit out after 30 caravans pitched up at a picturesque beauty spot.
Birmingham residents, who live close to popular site Billesley Common, claim travellers arrived at 8pm yesterday.
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Locals have slammed the arrival of caravans on Billesley Common, in Birmingham
Credit: BPM
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The group allegedly pitched up last night
Credit: BPM
They also slammed the caravan owners, staying opposite Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club, for allegedly digging toilet holes and littering piles of rubbish.
The group allegedly cut through chains locking a barrier that prevented access to the land.
Mark Brown, who lives close to Billesley Common, claimed they even set fire to an old caravan at the site.
He told BirminghamLive: 'Last time they left a lot of rubbish. At the common there's a woodland area for wildlife and a pond and that had rubbish and nappies in it.
'There are regular dog walkers and one said they were petrified to walk their dogs over there. They felt intimidated..'
And, this is not the first time a group have situated themselves at Billesley Common.
Mr Brown claimed they were also stationed there in June, and similarly left a trail of rubbish.
'They also dug a hole to use as a toilet," he alleged.
The concerned local theorised the group may have arrived due to a fair taking place at a nearby park.
This comes as several caravans also arrived at Kings Norton Park, and Swanshurst Park earlier this month.
Birmingham City Council previously said: 'Birmingham City Council is committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it.
'The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community – which is in line with Government policy – and details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website.'
But people say they're annoyed the council regularly clears away the group's rubbish with the city in the midst of a months-long bin collection strike.
One resident claimed a traveller keeps trying to buy his designer French bulldog for £250.
The Friends of Swanshurst Park Facebook group says the travellers gained access by moving a large log and driving in past bike racks.
Mum-of-two Rabai Tahir, who lives opposite the park, moved to the UK from Dubai with her husband five years ago and is 'astonished' travellers are allowed to keep coming back.
'They leave lots of rubbish bags and some of it stinks,' she told The Sun. 'It's cleaned up by my council tax money.
"I don't allow my kids to go over to the play park when they're there. We don't know who they are.
'It's shocking for me and my husband that people can stay here for weeks. It's a community park.'
Sandra Cotterill has lived opposite the park for 19 years. She said: 'I've had no trouble with them, they never bother me. Some people don't want to take their kids and dogs there."
However, she is annoyed that the local authority makes such an effort to clear the group's rubbish when thousands in the city have seen their own rubbish pile up for months.
Sandra said: 'They bag up all the rubbish and the council cleans it all away.
"We're paying our taxes, and we can't get our bin bags picked up, but they get theirs taken.'
Sandra's neighbour, who has lived in the area for 40 years and walks her dogs in the park, said residents are getting fed up with different traveller groups constantly coming and going.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: 'They clear them off and a week later another different group comes here.
"I keep away from them, they take over the park really. We're all just fed up.
'Travellers move the logs. We need a permanent solution to stop them coming onto the park.
"The amount of money the council must spend tidying up is ridiculous.'
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Residents claim the caravan owners leave a trail of litter behind them
Credit: BPM
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