Clean-up underway amid reports of ‘poo’ on playing fields after travellers vacate illegal Chesterfield site

Councillor Lisa Blakemore warned residents to avoid the playing fields off Langer Lane, Wingerworth, after discovering excrement in the area on Sunday.

In a post on the Residents of St Augustine's, Birdholme, Grangewood and Boythorpe Community Facebook page, she said: “The park has human/animal poo in several places

“There are children already on the park. Cllr Miles and I have taped the play area off to deter children playing on it. There is alot of broken glass all over the basket ball court and therefore dangerous.

“We recommend that children DO NOT play on the park until our team have cleaned the park tomorrow.”

It comes after a number of caravans descended on the fields after being evicted from a site just two miles away last Tuesday, April 19.

The group had previously spent the Easter weekend at an encampment in a car park at The Avenue, also in Wingerworth, leading to the creation of a task force of councils, police and others to evict them.

Chesterfield Borough Council served them with an eviction notice on Thursday and said that, if they did not move from the site, the eviction would take place the following day and the playing fields restored and secured.”

The authority has since revealed the eviction was successful and that work is now underway to restore the Langer Field site, which features two full-size football pitches for hire from Chesterfield College.

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Langer Field had an illegal traveller encampment on it until Sunday. Today our Streetscene team have been on site undertaking a clean-up operation to ensure the area is suitable for community use.

“We are relocating any remaining end of season football fixtures at this site to alternative venues to aid the clean-up operation following the illegal encampment.”

A further Facebook post by Coun Blakemore told how Chesterfield Litter Picking Group and Chesterfield Borough Council had removed more than three trucks full of rubbish from the site as she warned residents to avoid the play area while it was cordoned off to allow for the equipment to be washed down.

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