THE CHAIRMAN of Stoke Parish Council has hit out at travellers who, he claims, have trashed the Stoke Heath Recreation Ground, off Hanbury Road, and damaged the play area there to such an extent it is unusable.
John Ellis contacted The Standard about the group which left the site on Tuesday (August 5) after setting up an illegal encampment and staying there for over a week.
“We have now got to get the contractors to come along and assess the damage and give us a quote for the repairs.”
He said it was disappointing, especially as the play area had not been there long and the incident had happened in the school summer holidays, when many of the children in the Stoke villages wanted to use the equipment.
“It’s a well-used play area that cannot be used at the moment.”
Mr Ellis said a working group of volunteers had now also been set up in a bid to clean up the mess that the travellers had left behind.
A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “The travellers were on parish council land – they requested a civil address for a possession order which was granted on Monday at 11.15am – travellers vacated the site at 9pm on Tuesday.
“Local police have been monitoring the issue and have sent out targeted patrols throughout the duration of the time the travellers were there.”
She added Bromsgrove District Council had been working on clearing the land on Wednesday morning and the parish council was looking into quotes for preventative measures.
