ANGERED residents in Kingsteignton were left disgusted after rubbish was left by a traveller encampment, which was only there for three days. 

At a car park just off Greenhill Way, Kingsteignton, two caravans along with two high-performance sports saloon cars and two transit-style work vans were strewn on the roadside.

The swift visit didn’t stop the travellers from leaving the site in a sorry state. Frustrated resident Geoff Pike said the encampment was only there for three nights from last  Sunday through to Wednesday July 7.

Luckily however, the Kingsteignton Blitz team driver was on hand to clean it up pronto. Newton Abbot and the surrounding areas have been struck by travellers leaving sites in a sorry state recently.

District councillor George Gribble had a few words to describe the ongoing issue of sites being trashed: ‘It’s a nonsense’ he said. 

‘We’ve got to do something about this problem which is happening time and time again. 

‘This encampment was only there for a few days and it was still trashed.’ 

Cllr Gribble explained that he had raised the issue with Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez.

He continued: ‘We can’t have local taxpayers being intimidated and seeing their local areas covered in waste.

 ‘It’s not on’, he added.

‘We normally provide bins and toilets and they aren’t even used. I would have more sympathy with the travellers if they didn’t trash the place.’

In summer 2019 nearly £20,000 was spent restoring a storage yard at Drumbridges after some 20 caravans left the site in complete disarray last month.

Outrage over the mess led to calls from Cllr Gribble for travellers to be forced to foot the bill for major clean-ups at their encampments – once they had left.