Travellers face eviction from Aberdeen Sports Village camp on Friday - Abersdeenshire

From STV

A group of Travellers camped on a site next to the Aberdeen Sports Village will be evicted from the land on Friday morning.

Aberdeen City Council have gone to the Sheriff Court to enforce the removal of the Travellers, one of whom was accused of firing a BB gun at university hockey players earlier this week, although a spokeswoman for the group denied they had any involvement in the incident.

Ramsay Milne, the local councillor for Tillydrone, Seaton and Old Aberdeen, told STV Local he was relieved at the news, but felt the Travellers would simply move to another site in the city, where they had no authority to camp.

Mr Milne said: "The Travellers will be evicted from this place [at the ASV], but we know, under the existing regulations, that they are simply going to pitch up somewhere else in Aberdeen.

"That is why we are seeking to introduce a bylaw - to criminalise those who camp illegally on parks and other public places.

"But we know this is a difficult problem to solve and there are no easy answers."

Aberdeen University sports officials had pledged not to use the hockey facilities while the Travellers remained in situ, following last Saturday's acrimonious scenes.

But David Beattie, the chief executive of the Sports Village, confirmed that he expects the venue to be back to normal operation by this weekend.