PEOPLE in Mirfield living near a recreation ground regularly occupied by traveller groups say they feel “anger and fear” at the almost annual occurrences.

One resident whose home overlooks the football field at Old Bank Road said the site had been left strewn with “rubbish and filth.” Portable toilets supplied by Kirklees Council had been tipped over before the group left.

Locals say the groups has pitched an unauthorised camp at Old Bank on four occasions during the last five years.

The latest encampment lasted from July 14 to 24.

One resident said: “We feel despair, anger and fear, and that nobody takes any notice of us because we know what we’re in for when they come.

“We have rung so many different agencies as well as the police. They tell us it’s the council’s responsibility. The police came after someone complained about the noise. Five minutes after they left, they were back on the field doing it again.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed there had been complaints about noise and an “ongoing disturbance” but that no crimes were reported. The force said trespass was a civil matter to be handled by the local authority.

Kirklees Councillor Graham Turner said it has “well-established policies and procedures in place” to deal with illegal encampments.