Legal bid to remove travellers camping in Shrewsbury

The group moved on to the land close to the Park & Ride at Harlescott on Friday and have ignored a notice to move on.

Shropshire Council has now started legal action to evict them from the land next to Battlefield Road.

Julie Nicholas runs a florists nearby. She said she had been affected by travellers setting up camp on land outside her business since she opened just over a year ago.

She said in the past 15 months travellers have hung washing from her fencing, urinated on the grass verges and made her life a ‘nightmare’.

The most recent arrivals moved on to a site outside her premises on Friday.

She said: “I have been in touch with the police and the council and told them what is going on.

“The problem is that we have to go through the process and that takes time. It is horrendous. I have had all sorts of people turn up here.

“They cause a terrible mess. We have had them hanging their washing out on the railings, urinating on the grass. It has been a nightmare.

"People think I am moaning but I am not. I work closely with the council and with the police on this.

"It is not nice to have this on your doorstep. I have to go through the correct procedure on this and work with the right people.”

“I have been in the shop crying out this and I don’t know what to do. I pay rent and rates and hopefully the council will be able to do something about this lot."

She added: “The presence of the travellers has been affecting business at Tesco, at the nearby pubs and at the restaurants.

"It is a pain but it is not directly on their doorstep. I am putting something into the community and I am getting sick of this.”

John Taylor, Shropshire Council’s senior traveller liaison officer, said: “There has been a traveller group at Shropshire Council’s Harlescott Park & Ride site since Friday.

“The liaison team has visited and served notice to vacate the site. Due to the travellers remaining there we will be seeking eviction action via the court.”