A CALL has been made to improve the security of a playing field after a group of travellers moved onto it.


A caravan and a dark coloured car were seen at Blacksnape Playing Fields in Darwen on Tuesday.

Police said a second caravan had moved onto the site yesterday evening.


Cllr Julie Slater, who represents the area on Blackburn with Darwen Council, said she received more than 35 phone calls about the Blacksnape Road site in one evening.


Cllr Slater said more needs to be done to put people off camping at the site.


She said: “We need barriers or something sturdy to stop people getting in.


“We think they went through a little area further down from the car park.


“I had a lot of calls from people saying they were worried about what is going to happen.


“It is a concern for us but we want to reassure residents the council are dealing with it.


“We don’t want all sorts of rubbish left on there.


“The council have just cut the grass there and I will be annoyed if there are tyre tracks all over it.


“I have been a councillor for 10 years and I have not encountered a problem like this before at the site.


It is illegal for anyone to camp on public or private land without permission.


Section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 gives councils in England and Wales power to give a direction to leave the land.


Councils have the power to enforce notices to give those illegally camped on land to leave.

 

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A police spokesman said officers attended the site with council workers who issued a notice at 2pm yesterday, asking those on the land to leave within 24 hours.


Inspector Duncan Arthur said the police were liaising with the council in relation to the matter.


Cllr Kevin Connor, who also represents the area on the council, said: “It is upsetting when there are official sites the council provide and they are not used.


“If they cannot get in them they will have to go to a site where they have to pay.


“I own my house and I have to pay my bills and that is only fair.


“If that’s the life I choose I have to be prepared to pay.


“I always thought the fields were inpenetrable because of the barriers at the formal entrance, but obviously not.


“There has to be a way of putting people off going there, but finding that solution would be very difficult.”