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Travellers pitch up at leisure centre after police forced to move riot van which was blockading car park

2023-02-27 8 Dailymotion

Dozens of travellers pitched up at a leisure centre after "powerless" police were forced to move a riot van which was blockading the car park.<br /><br />A fleet of 22 caravans, 4x4s and luxury cars invaded Perdiswell Leisure Centre in Worcester on Sunday (26/2) afternoon.<br /><br />Leisure centre staff called police and officers tried to stop the travellers taking over the site by parking a riot van across the entrance.<br /><br />In chaotic scenes, the travellers caused traffic jams in nearby roads while gym goers were trapped inside the car park.<br /><br />Officers were forced to move their vehicle to let customers out but were <br />powerless to stop the convoy of caravans from barging their way onto the site.<br /><br />A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: "We were here to prevent a breach of the peace.<br /><br />"The land is council property and we are waiting for direction from the landlords."<br /><br />Pictures show caravans crowding onto the car park which is owned and run by Worcester City Council.<br /><br />Leisure centre staff bravely tried to stop the travellers from invading the site while they waited for police to arrive.<br /><br />One employee said: "Three of us stood in front of the vans trying to stop them from coming in and waited for the authority. <br /><br />"While we were there, someone went to call the police. <br /><br />"They were shouting in our faces, but we tried to keep calm, and I think we handled it well. <br /><br />"We then tried to shut the barrier, and they started driving towards it.<br /><br />"We opened the barrier then, as it started to become dangerous with all the threats flying around." <br /><br />Another added: “We had numerous customers come in saying travellers have arrived. <br /><br />"It was scary."<br /><br />Meanwhile staff held up signs letting parents know that swimming lessons were still on despite the illegal encampment.<br /><br />One parent said: “It’s a nightmare and the police are completely powerless to stop them.<br /><br />“To be fair to the officers down here they tried to stop the travellers from coming onto the site but had to move to let leisure centre users leave the car park.<br /><br />“As soon as they moved their van the caravans piled in. The streets around here were deadlocked for hours.”<br /><br />At least 11 caravans and 11 vehicles have been spotted in the carpark and bin bags of rubbish looked to have been dumped on the new site.<br /><br />Residents fear the leisure centre, which has recently undergone a £10.5 million revamp, will be “easy pickings” for travellers in future.<br /><br />One woman who lives on nearby Bilford Road added: “We’ve had a few issues with travellers over the years but this was ridiculous.<br /><br />“It was clearly deliberately targeted by these people who are exploiting loopholes in the law. <br /><br />“They know they won’t be asked to move on for a few days so they take the place over while the police and authorities do nothing.<br /><br />"My fear is that now travellers know they can move onto the site without anyone stopping them, it'll be easy pickings forever more."

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