Travellers set up camp by B&Q

Travellers have set up camp in a superstore car park, just yards from an estate of family homes. The caravans have parked up close to family-sized semi detached homes behind the B&Q store at Bilston's Springvale Business Park.

It is the sixth time the site has been occupied by travellers since February. Rubbish has already starting to build up around the site since they arrived last Tuesday as legal efforts are launched to remove them. Councillor Roger Lawrence, the leader of Wolverhampton City Council, said: "It is very frustrating for us.

"We are trying to take action on the problems we are having with travellers in Wolverhampton, problems which appear to be getting more and more intense.

"I had an email about it last night so I'm aware of the fact that a group of them are on that particular site again."

Management at the B&Q store say the travellers are already causing problems and have alerted head office, where further attempts will be made to move them on.

The DIY store thought it had been the back of the problem last month and has asked the city council to be as quick as it can in moving them on.

Store duty manager Martin Davani said: "Since they have been here in the last week there have been problems, and we are doing what we can to get them moved off the site.

"We have told our head office because we can't be dealing with it on a personal level, because there are issues with health and safety of our staff."

The store has declined to comment on the nature of the problems the travellers are causing but have warned workers to stay away from the back of the site. The city council is going to the Magistrates Court tomorrow to obtain an eviction notice, giving it the power to legally force them to move.

Travellers have now set up camp on 32 sites in the city during 2007, costing taxpayers an estimated £150,000 in eviction and clean-up costs.