BRADFORD Council officials have spoken to the owner of land where travellers have set up a camp.

A group of at least 20 caravans and other vehicles have parked up on a field in Keighley Road, Crossflatts, Bingley.

The camp is split into two, with groups of caravans located at either end of the large field.

A number of bags of rubbish, including cardboard boxes and a children’s car seat, have been left dumped inside the camp.

Some of the wooden fence panels surrounding the field, which is privately owned, have been smashed and large tyre marks have indented the grass on the field.

A number of wooden dog kennels have also been placed on the field and a landscaping business vehicle could also be seen among the travellers’ vehicles.

Young children could also be seen playing in the field.

Councillor David Hestletine (Con, Bingley) says he has written to the authority to alert them about the site after seeing the site for himself on Friday, June 9, and believes it had arrived two days before.

He said: “I have sent an email to Bradford Council and made a complaint about it.

“It needs sorting out. With these sorts of encampments there is usually a lot of rubbish that the people who live there have to clean up after the travellers have gone.

“There is also an issue of the expense and time consuming for the landowners to get their property back when it should not have been occupied in the first place.

“ It is also frustrating for the landowners. It is unfortunate for the landowner that they have to be the ones to get the travellers removed from their land.”

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Cllr Hestletine added that he has not been contacted by any residents in his ward regarding this issue.

He said: “It seems to be a popular site along Keighley Road for travellers to stop at.

“Nobody has contacted me about it. I thought that people would have got in touch with me about this issue.

“It is good that the Council has taken the appropriate action on this too.”

The Council says it has spoken to the landowners, who have not been identified, to give them advice over the next legal steps for them to take to remove the group.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “We have visited this site, which is privately owned, and have advised the owner of the steps that he can take to secure vacant possession and have the travellers removed.”

The travellers declined to comment when approached by the Telegraph & Argus at the site yesterday.

This location has proved to be a popular spot for travellers to set up camp over recent weeks.

Travellers moved onto the football pitch adjacent to Crossflatts Cricket Club in Keighley Road last month and stayed there for a couple of weeks.

There were at least six caravans, along with vans, trucks and a horse box on-site.

In August last year, around 15 caravans were spotted entering a site off Keighley Road near Bingley Grammar School.

Young children could be seen riding on ‘mini-moto’ dirt bikes without helmets or any protective clothing at the site.

The land was thought to include at least part of the old cattle market auction site, and the identity of the landowner is unclear.