Travellers are still living on the site of a derelict pub in Wolverhampton – seven weeks after they first arrived.

Residents living near the pub say they are still waiting for action to move on the eight caravans, which arrived on the grounds of the former Paget Arms pub in Park Lane, Bushbury, back in May.

They say the land has become strewn with rubbish, with bottles, cans, black bags, rubble and clothes on the floor and dogs sniffing around the site for scraps of food.

City council chiefs today said they are pressing the owner of the site to take steps to to remove them, but cannot intervene themselves and speed the process up because the land is privately owned.

It means nearby residents could be in for a wait – the owner of the land has to bring forward his own private prosecution for trespass unless the travellers move on voluntarily, which could take weeks.

Mary Brooker, aged 83, of nearby Guy Avenue, said: “They are a pain in the backside. The pub has been an eyesore for a long time anyway, this is just dragging it down even more. I just hope that they move on quickly, it obviously seems too much trouble to kick them off. The rubbish is awful.”

The travellers relocated to the site after leaving land in Showell Road, another privately owned site that they decided to leave of their own accord.

The Governments wants town halls in the West Midlands to create almost 100 new camps for travellers to reside on legally, but no council has yet revealed which sites are under discussion.

Councillor Peter O’Neill, who represents Bushbury, said: “The local authority is pressing the owner to take the necessary legal action, this is causing us some problems. We’ve also been in touch with the local fire officer and asked him to make sure the pub is secure.”

The old Parget Arms pub building is currently on the authority’s Local List, which means planning officers can refuse future developments considered unsuitable.

The city council will not reveal who owns the land.