RESIDENTS are concerned about the mess travellers who have been pitched up illegally at playing fields in Kirk Ella for the past three weeks could leave when they eventually move on.
East Riding Council is set to serve notice on the travellers and a court hearing will take place on Friday to have them removed from King George V Playing Fields, off Beverley Road.
At one point, 21 caravans were pitched up and there are still about 14 on the site.
Steve Gray, who lives close to the fields in Kirk Ella, said he dreads to think what state the area will be in once the travellers leave.
He said: "There are now several loads of waste – predominantly garden waste – in addition to many, many waste bags of domestic waste.
"We also understand there is toilet waste being disposed of in the shrubbery areas on the site periphery.
"The travellers have been touting homes to carry out gardening work in the local area and they are quite clearly disposing of the waste at the playing fields.
"There are also five or six horses on the football fields, which are now covered in dung. It has become a no-go area."
Mr Gray says he wasn't too concerned when the travellers first turned up.
He said: "I took a laid-back approach at first, thinking they would only be here for a couple of days.
"While we are coping with the noise from the generators up to about 11.30pm each night and the cocks crowing at about 4.30am, we now feel it is totally unacceptable that these travellers are, in effect, fly-tipping on the land."
Mr Gray says residents are frustrated by the length of time the travellers have remained on site.
"We are totally fed up with the situation," he said. "I have lived here for 30 years and this is only the second time we have seen them here.
"They came a couple of years ago but quickly left.
"We are very disappointed nothing has been done so far when we are nearly three weeks in.
"I walked along the fields the other day and was approached by half a dozen men asking me what I was doing. It was quite intimidating."
Mr Gray now feels the council should look at ways to secure the site.
He said: "Clearly, something has to be done, but there has to be access for emergency vehicles.
"I would like to see an earth mound created to stop the travellers."
Ward councillor Shaun Horton admits the situation has been difficult.
He said: "I am not happy with the travellers being on the fields.
"There is a court hearing on Friday to have them removed.
"There have been a couple of complications in the process.
"Yorkshire Water owns part of the land, so we needed to get its clearance, and two of the judges have also been sick, which means Friday was the earliest we could get the hearing.
"There will be a clear-up cost for us and we know there is garden waste and other rubbish on the site.
"These are costs we really don't want to incur, particularly at a time when our budgets are being cut."
Cllr Horton believes there will be a need to look at how the site can be secured.
He said: "We are looking at different options to ensure this doesn't happen again.
"But we want to ensure there remains access for legitimate users."
A spokesman for East Riding Council confirmed the hearing will take place on Friday.
He said: "We conducted a welfare check on the site where travellers pitched up and we went to court to serve notice.
"That hearing will take place on Friday.
"Street Scene staff will be on site to clean up but we will also hand out refuse sacks to the travellers so they can bag up the rubbish.
"Once they leave, we will consider options to secure the site in the future."
