Travellers on run-down site in Coventry say £200,000 for repairs is not enough

FAMILIES living on a run-down Travellers site which is set to be revamped say spending £200,000 on repairs is not enough.

Travellers on the council-run Siskin Drive site in Toll Bar End, Coventry have branded it one of the worst in the country because it was “hazardous and unhygienic”.

The site has no hot water and residents are often forced to use local leisure centre showering facilities.

As part of a UK-wide initiative to spend £47 million on improving existing Travellers sites and providing new ones, £213,000 funding has been given to Coventry City Council to renovate six pitches on the site.

Gerard McCann who has lived on the site for 22 years said: “It has been like this for years. The blocks have live wires everywhere, roofs have caved in and one even caught fire.

“Years ago the council said they would put some hot water here but they haven’t. Instead they put some portaloos here which just smell.

“It is dangerous for the kids to be around here so we have done some work ourselves to try and make the grounds safe. We put fencing up to stop the kids and dogs from running out in the road and covered broken drains to stop people falling down.

“There’s rats here too and the sewers overflow. It’s just a dum