LOCALS say there is nothing they can do after travellers in a “caravan convoy” invaded a football pitch, smashed up cameras and left rubbish scattered about.
Kids were left disappointed after their football matches were cancelled after dozens of travellers set up a temporary home so they could attend a wedding.
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Outraged staff at the junior soccer club have now blasted council chiefs and police for failing to take any action over the uninvited and unwanted mob running riot on their ground.
Horrified workers and parents witnessed the travellers breaking into their leased land with one mum saying: “They were smashing their way through the wooden fence and gate with their bare hands and brute force.”
Their action was captured on CCTV installed at the home of the Pelican Colts football club at Dave Eastwood Sports Ground in Nottingham, following previous invasions and which the thug trespassers later smashed up.
Six games over the weekend, which players had been “so looking forward to and excited about” as the first in the new season had to be cancelled due to the ground being occupied.
As the young footballers, aged six to 18, were forced to stay away, The Sun Online watched on as several traveller kids enjoyed their own kick around with a football.
When our reporter approached one adult male striding across the grass, he responded: “We’re all here for a wedding in Nottingham and we have every right to be staying in a big open field!”
He declined to comment on why they allegedly broke into the secured ground – opposite a fancy Aston Martin garage and near a posh two star Michelin restaurant – causing disruption, disappointment and anger to the club’s players, visiting teams, staff and parents.
At least 17 caravans were pitched around the edge of the field with travellers allegedly using the grass as a make-shift loo, leaving strewn rubbish and wrecking the onsite cabins.
A group of children, looking to be aged about 10, threatened our female reporter, swearing and spitting at her and trying to kick her car.
Mum-of-three Jemma Marriott, a volunteer at the non-profit making club, told how the gatecrash had ruined last weekend for many people.
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She told The Sun Online: “The kids missing out were frustrated and upset and very disappointed and the parents very angry.
Numerous children from the popular club – returning to action after the summer break – were forced to stay away, including her three sons, aged nine, 16 and 17.
The school support staff worker, who is a volunteer at the club, said: It’s had an impact all round for everybody really, not just us, but other away teams as they’ve not been able to play either.
“The under-7s, under-9s, under-12s and under-18s should have played on Saturday and Sunday. My boys should have been on the pitches.
“It’s caused so much disruption.
“The children were so looking forward to and excited about playing again on the opening weekend of the season.
“They stopped hundreds of children from playing football at the weekend and possibly this weekend depending on if they are still there and what damage has been caused to the pitches.”
It is the third time nuisance travellers have returned to the field off Lenton lane, on the outskirts of the city, and right next to Riverside Golf Centre and several other football clubs.
SECURITY PATROLS BROUGHT IN
Security patrols, employed by the golf club, were brought in to be on guard 24-7 while the travellers remain in situ.
Jemma, 40, explained: “They turned up on Friday night, the day after our training session, causing mayhem by blocking the access road with their caravans and breaking into our ground.
“Some people were around and saw them. They were smashing their way through the wooden fence and gate with their bare hands.”
She said they were too fearful to either confront them or try to stop them but did contact police the following day after security cameras were smashed, who she said “did nothing.”
She added: “They said what do want us to do about it “What do you want us to do?’ and we said ‘Arrest them for criminal damage’ and they replied ‘It is not a matter for us, it is an issue for the council which owns the land.’
“It is ridiculous!”
The soccer enthusiast said it was “appalling and outrageous” that the authorities had ignored the travellers’ illegal stay.
Jemma said: “They should not be allowed to stay, it is totally disrespectful. They leave their rubbish and trash our stuff. They broke into the toilet building, they wrecked the fence and they smashed the metal picnic table into the cabins.
The club, which leases the land from cash-strapped and bankrupt Nottingham City Council, is in the process of putting the matter into the hands of bailiffs to try to rid the travellers.
Jemma said: “But this is a lengthy and costly process and because we are on a long lease it has become our responsibility.
“We are crowd funding to raise money so we can pay for bailiffs to carry out an initial risk assessment and then consider issuing a ‘move on’ order.
“We are very close to sending in the bailiffs but it can cause thousands and thousands of pounds which as a community football club we do not have.”
SYMPATHY FOR THE TRAVELLERS
She added: “I do sympathise with the travellers because they have nowhere to go. They have chosen this lifestyle and maybe the council should provide them with suitable space.
“But it is wrong for them to come onto someone else’s property, particularly a community club which benefits so many young people. It is infuriating.”
Another parent and club volunteer, who declined to be named, said: “Over the last few years our ground has been a constant target by travellers. It is a big open field.
It is wrong for them to come onto someone else’s property, particularly a community club which benefits so many young people. It is infuriating
Jemma
“If they had pitched up in an individual estate they would have been moved on very quickly.”
He said the club, which also has adult female members, does “not have personnel at the premises 24-7.”
The dad said: “The travellers gained access by smashing the fence in. It is very frustrating.
“We are a kids’ football club which runs to help youngsters in the lower and poorer areas of Nottingham.
“We have 200 children and women and now we can’t play football.
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“It is something the kids look forward to and enjoy, and gives the adults an opportunity to get away from a stressful life.
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“The council should try to accommodate the travellers and respect the way they wish to live their lives, so this doesn’t keep happening to people like us.”
Pelican Colts’ manager Steve Coco told The Sun Online: “The authorities should get involved and help us out a bit, but the police and council have done nothing.
“We are a children’s football club which I have run for 30 years, 25 years at this premises which we have leased from the city council.”
The dad-of-two said: “My son started here as a seven-year-old. He is now 37.
“There are other football clubs located at the sports ground and I got a phone call on Friday night from another leader warning us that the travellers had arrived.
“They were caught on CCTV breaking into our premises, they broke the fence clearly and police should have acted but they didn’t.”
Steve, 64, a delivery driver for a local company, said: “The travellers are so disrespectful. We’ve cancelled matches at the weekend because of them, and training this week.
“We have no idea if we’ll be back playing at the weekend. If they are still there we won’t be and we have no idea the state of the pitch.
“One of my pals went to the site on Saturday morning and calmly confronted one of the travellers, telling him they were stopping the kids playing football. He wasn’t bothered.
“His attitude was ‘It is what it is and we don’t care.’ “
A women’s team player called Lucy said the travellers’ selfish action was a “real shame” and put a “strain on the club.”
She said: “The people running it are running it out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s a community-led club. They spent a lot of their own money last year on fences to try and stop the travellers from getting on.
“They’ve also put up a huge security gate on the Lenton Lane side.
“We can’t play when this happens and just have to wait until they go and then deal with the damage.
“It really puts a strain on the football club. The bailiffs to remove the travellers will cost into the thousands. I’m absolutely loving football. It’s such an outlet and it’s a really lovely club so it’s a real shame.”
The ground, very near iconic Restaurant Sat Bains which also has rooms, also neighbours a respected golf club.
A source at Riverside Gold centre said: “It is appalling that the travellers are back and being a menace. It is the second time in four months and the third or fourth within the past year.
“We are on private land owned by NI Golf but it affects us because of the amount of extra money we are having ti spend on security.
“We have three dog units in whilst the travellers are on site. We have them in around the clock. We don’t want them wrecking our premises, or stealing from our prestigious shop of taking over our car park.
The worker said: “They rolled up on Friday night in a convoy of caravans and blocking the whole lane. We counted at least 17 vehicles.
“They smashed through the fence of the football ground beside us and hurled a bench and table through the cabins on site.
“There is excrement and mess everywhere.
“Each time there appears to be different groups but the latest os by far the worse. They are a terrifying mob and our staff have been advised not to approach them as they are too aggressive and dangerous.”
The man, who asked not to be named, continued: “They are mouthy and threatening and want to rise to any situation.
‘“One of our green keepers happened to bump into them and he found himself surrounded by a group of four who warned him: ‘Don’t try and stop us coming in!’
“They said they were here for a wedding.”
He added: “We’re always on our guard when they’re pitched up and notice they send a group up first to do a recce of the place.
“We feel sorry for the kids’ football club which always bears the brunt. We’ve offered to help them pay for the repair of the broken fence which will cost about £6,000.
“They have to pay to try and get them evicted.”
The golf club source claimed that the travellers were “wrecking the parking area by doing donut wheel spins in their cars”.
The travellers have caused a lot of unrest and real problems
Volunteer
“They try to come into out clubhouse to use our toilets but we don’t really want them here.”
A volunteer from neighbouring Dunkirk Football Club said: “The travellers have caused a lot of unrest and real problems and extra security measures have been put in place because of them. It is terrible.
“We heard they turned up here to attend a wedding in Nottingham after being kicked off a site in Beeston.
“It’s not just affected the kids club but ours too. Someone associated to our club, Ian Lowe, a former player and captain had sadly died recently from cancer and we were holding a commemorative event for him at the weekend with a minute’s silence.
“Some of our members and visitors felt uneasy because a few of the travellers kept walking up and down the lane in a intimidating fashion.”
Among dog handling security guards quickly brought onto the vast sports ground site following the latest traveller intrusion are two from independent company K-9 Unit.
Jeff, 33, handling one of his two lively German Shepherd animals as he spoke to our team, said: “We’ve been called in to patrol the area. There’s s been a lot of grief with the travellers’ arrival, they just drove up uninvited.
“They’re a nuisance but we never parade with the dogs, they are there just in case and as a back up is there was any incident calling for canine action.”
His colleague Jess, 23, with her Belgian Malinois puppy, said: “We’re here doing a job and don’t want any aggro but you never know with traveller types.
“I was patrolling, without any dog, and shone my torch at a group of them, men in their 40’s, and they started being verbally abusive.
“You have to show them you’re not afraid but don’t get into their face. They enjoy a confrontation.
“Whatever your response they’ll always just tell you to ‘F*** off!’ “
Pelican Colts are appealing for help to try and fight the repeated illegal pitches by travellers.
On a fund-raising page they state: “We area community football club in Nottingham supporting football for all ages and abilities, home to 15 teams of children, men and women. It is a ground important to many.
“Travellers have moved into the ground year on year for a time and cause the club thousands in damage and bailiff fees to remove them.
“Faced with no support from police or the council we are appealing to the public to help keep the club going and fund repairs which could leave the club in serious financial difficulty, even facing closure. Please give what you can.”
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “The David Eastwood sports ground is leased to Pelican FC and they have full responsibility for its maintenance and any traveller removal.”
Nottingham Police has been approached but has so far declined to make any comment about no accusation made against the force.
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “We received a report of criminal damage at Dave Eastwood Sports Ground, in Lenton Lane, Nottingham, on Friday 6 September.
“Officers attended and found fencing had been damaged. It is believed the incident was related to an unauthorised encampment.
“Anyone with information, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident is asked to get in contact with us.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
They said that no arrests had been made and “this remains a live investigation.”
A force source said: “Travellers more generally, such as action to move them on, is a matter for local authorities.”
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