Traveller Camps Spark Uproar in Leamington Spa

0:00On April 30, two Traveler camps have popped up in the heart of rural Liemington Spa, Warwickshire, turning heads and tempers. Over 20 caravans and motor homes rolled into Parkland right next to the police station and those 750,000-pound Regency homes. Another group hit Ford's Fields Community Park, just a six-minute drive away. They showed up last Saturday and even after Council officials stopped by, the setups are still there. Folks say the Travelers pulled down steel barriers meant to block exactly this at the nearby Jefferson Gardens. Ward District Council hit them with a notice to clear out by April 30, or, though push for a court order on both spots. Residents are straight up fed up, calling it hell for their town. They worry Liemington's green spaces make it a soft target, with cleanup bills hitting taxpayers in rubbish, piling up after. One local noted how every park gets hit eventually, and word spreads fast for the next crew. Police got wind around 8.30 p.m. Saturday and are chatting with the groups,

1:00but they say it's the Council's call. Meanwhile, this fits a wave of similar land grabs across the UK, from Alfred and Surrey to spots in Kent, Gilford, and Hartfordshire, where Fields got turned into hard-standing sites overnight. Councils hooking up refuse bins at both camps and teaming with police to watch close. If they don't bounce by tomorrow, legal heat ramps up. Keep an eye on how this plays out in posh Liemington.