TRAVELLERS who pitched up on fields next to a community centre are set to stay until at least the weekend.

After being kicked off Haslingden Leisure Centre by police at 3pm on yesterday, the 40 caravans turned up at Greenfield Community Centre, Green Lane, Mill Hill, an hour later.

Today, there was a mixed reaction to the encampment from local residents.

One pensioner, who didn’t want to be named, said: “They need to move off the fields very shortly because they are used by the local football teams and their season gets underway soon.

“They are on private land which doesn’t belong to them and it makes the area look scruffy.”

Dozens of residents contact the local neighbourhood policing team to ‘voice their concerns’.

Sgt Paul Schofield said: “This is one of the biggest camps we’ve ever had in Blackburn. No offences have been committed, the site is tidy, however, it is private council-owned land.”

Supervisor Kirsty Jones, 28, and nursery nurse Gemma Thompson, 22, from Greenview Nursery, based at the community centre, said: “They’ve been very co-operative and tidy.

“We asked them not to park or let their dogs near the nursery and they haven’t.

“Some parents are not happy about it, but their children are safe.

“I don’t think it is a long-term practical solution because they have no amenities or facilities.”

Gemma said: “They’ve been very pleasant and the children were interested in our classrooms.”

A spokesman for the travellers said: “We’ve asked for a skip so we can keep the site tidy. We’ve been told that we can stay for a month and are happy with that.”

But a police spokesman said the group would be asked to move on over the weekend.

The group has around 35 families with 140 children and told the Lancashire Telegraph they needed to be close to a hospital because two women were about to give birth.

They have been in East Lancashire for around six weeks, staying in Bacup, Edenfield and Haslingden.