Shoppers have been left furious after a group of ‘frightening’ travellers set up camp in a B&Q car park – leaving rubbish strewn across the floor and their children to run riot.
Images show 17 caravans occupying more than half of the parking bays outside the store in Bury, Greater Manchester, after they pitched up on Saturday.
Rowdy dogs have been chained up to kennels, with quadbikes and litter dumped outside the large convoy of vehicles.
The travellers’ children have ’caused havoc’, according to locals, and were pictured playing on top of bags of soil left outside the hardware store, situated off the M66 near Burger King.
One incident saw two children snatch a shopping pallet before riding it through traffic. Eventually an adult – presumably their father – dragged the youngsters away.
Shoppers say the group have been a ‘nuisance’ in the days since they set up camp at the spot, which has proved popular with travellers in recent months.
A B&Q worker said: ‘People won’t go in the store when they see them. We are sick of it.
‘They have smashed the locks off the car park and have been in three times in the last few months. It’s all the c**p and dog poo that we have to clean up after they have gone.
Shoppers have been left furious after a group of travellers set up camp outside a B&Q store in Bury, Manchester
The group moved to the site on Saturday, and have since chained their dogs to kennels and ’caused havoc’, according to locals
Children have also been spotted running riot. Images showed two playing on top of bags of soil left outside the hardware store
‘Bailiffs are supposed to be coming to give them notice so we will see how long that takes. It’s a shame the police can’t just shift them.’
One elderly lady, who preferred to not be named, admitted she was ‘shocked’ to see the travellers move to such a busy location.
‘It’s off-putting and frightening to see them here,’ she said.
‘Why isn’t somebody coming here to shift them? What sort of country have we become? We should be able to shop in peace.’
The woman added that if one of the travellers’ children was struck by a car, it wouldn’t be their parents getting the blame but the ‘poor’ driver.
Vicky Hughes, 60, from nearby Radcliffe, said: ‘I wouldn’t have a problem if they just cleaned up after themselves. But they always take the Mickey.
‘Some travellers camped outside my husband’s office building a couple of years ago and went to the toilet right outside.
‘I think people would be more sympathetic if they weren’t so disgusting. It’s all the mess they cause.’
B&Q have since hired three enforcement officers in a bid to have the group removed, but have so far been unsuccessful.
David Hatton, 69, from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, said: ‘They’re a nuisance for shoppers.
‘And it’s a shame seeing young kids running around – they should be in school. Nobody really wants to see the travellers but I guess they have to go somewhere.
The site, located just off the M66, has become a popular spot for travellers this year, according to shoppers
One incident saw two children snatch a shopping pallet before riding it between residents’ vehicles
A convoy of 17 caravans is in position. One local said: ‘I think people would be more sympathetic if they weren’t so disgusting. It’s all the mess they cause’
‘But a B&Q car park is definitely not the best location.’
However another shopper took a contrasting view, arguing the travellers have ‘every right’ to set up camp in the car park.
‘I’d rather have them than a load of illegal immigrants because they’re British,’ he said.
‘I don’t feel unsafe around them at all.’
When asked whether a B&Q store is an ideal location for a camp, he added: ‘I don’t feel they are a nuisance. They’re British so they have the freedom of the land.
‘This may be private land but there’s public access. If B&Q don’t want travellers to come here they should provide extra security.’
Bury Council claimed they were ‘unaware’ of the camp after being approached for comment by the Daily Mail.
A spokesperson said: ‘We are unaware of any concerns raised regarding the unauthorised encampment at the B&Q car park. As this site is privately owned land, responsibility for any enforcement action rests with the landowner and not the council.
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‘The council does not undertake enforcement action in relation to unauthorised encampments on private land. Where complaints are received, officers will notify the landowner and provide appropriate guidance regarding the legal processes available to them.
‘We work with partners where appropriate to ensure any issues relating to public safety, waste or anti-social behaviour are monitored and addressed through the relevant agencies.’
Greater Manchester Police were contacted for comment.
The travellers’ site in Bury comes less than a month after residents in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, told the Mail their village had been ‘invaded’ by caravans over Easter weekend.
Locals said the group drove onto green belt land near Friendless Lane before a convoy of vehicles followed suit days later – with the green space totally destroyed by hardstanding paving.
It was thought that the travellers launched their land grab over the bank holiday weekend in the hope that local council bosses would be slow to react.
And earlier this month a group pitched up at a beauty spot in Willows Green, Essex, in what was described as an overnight ‘military operation’.
Furious residents complained that their village had been ‘destroyed’ after a convoy of 30 vehicles arrived over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
They said the group laid down hardcore, dug cesspits and erected fences and a new entrance within hours of their arrival.
‘If they’d been building the HS2 railway line, it would have been finished 10 years ago,’ one said. ‘But they have wrecked our village.’
