Travellers set up camp at Bescot Retail Park in Walsall - West Milands

From the Express and Star

Up to a dozen caravans have moved onto the car park of Bescot Retail Park in Walsall.

They are believed to have settled on the site, near to Walsall FC’s Banks’s Stadium yesterday. The caravans have taken up a small area of the car park in Bescot Crescent near to a row of empty units.

The site was also taken over by Travellers in the spring – one of more than 60 illegal camps in the borough this year. Mohammed Rafiq, chairman of the Palfrey and Caldmore

Neighbourhood Watch, said it was becoming an increasing problem and that action was needed to prevent such camps.

“It is becoming all too often now,” he said. “This is happening all the time. A lot is coming out of taxpayers money to clean up, there is a lot of mess being left behind.”

It emerged last month that Travellers have cost cash-strapped Walsall Council more than £30,000 so far this year.

Bosses have been forced to fork out tens of thousands of pounds on clean-ups and costs associated with issuing legal notices to move camps on from council-owned sites.

Council staff have been forced to pursue court action on regular occasions, only for them to relocate to other sites and sometimes even return to the original land they unlawfully occupied.

Hotspot areas have included Delves Green Common, industrial land in Brockhurst Crescent and Broadway West playing fields.

They have also been on Aston University’s Outdoor Recreation Centre on the border of Walsall and Great Barr along with Silver Court Gardens in Brownhills and Dolphin House car park, Goscote.

Elsewhere, Travellers who pitched up on a school car park, causing chaos for parents, moved on this week after being issued with an order by police. Four caravans and a number of vans and cars had parked up at Cheslyn Hay Sport and Community High School’s coach park.

Travellers also set up a camp of more than 30 caravans in a small hamlet near Cheslyn Hay. They moved on from fields in Middle Hill, overnight on Tuesday.