Express & Star

Police block new travellers camp at Chase Leisure Centre

Travellers were prevented from invading a leisure centre car park again thanks to new protocol aimed at saving thousands of pounds in court action and clean-up costs.

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Six caravans tried to move onto Chase Leisure Centre – a spot groups have taken over at least twice in the past year – on Friday night but were chased of by police.

Cannock Chase Council leader George Adamson said the incident showed a new protocol agreed to move travellers on as early as possible was 'working like a dream'.

The new measures to evict unauthorised encampments sooner were introduced in July, alleviating the cost of moving them on – which is estimated at £2,500.

Working with Staffordshire Police, the Highways Agency and private landowners, its aim is to locally negotiate an agreed end to any illegal encampment, on council land, to avoid the formal eviction process.

Councillor Adamson said: "We had an incident on Friday evening with travellers who tried to force their way onto the leisure centre car park. They pushed a security guard out of the way and tried to force their way onto the site.

"He contacted the council who then rang the police. The new protocol worked like a dream. The police turned up straight away and forced them out and chased them out of the district."

Travellers wreaked havoc at the car park in March, with centre users forced to park on Stafford Road.

Councillor Maureen Freeman said it would have been a 'horrendous' bank holiday weekend had they succeeded again.

She said: "This new protocol is working brilliantly, agencies even check the CCTV and follow the travellers through the district making sure they leave.

"I feel it would have been very difficult for them to get onto the site anyway because the protocol is so strict. This all came about after the last incident. But had they got on, it would have been horrendous, especially as it was a bank holiday."

No-one from Wigan Leisure Culture Trust, which runs the leisure centre, was available for comment.

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