‘Travellers' in 30 caravans take over park in leafy suburb – but cops have NO power to evict them
PARK STRIFE 'Travellers' in 30 caravans take over park in leafy suburb – but cops have NO power to evict them
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MORE than two dozen caravans have taken over a local park with cops left powerless to evict them.
Around 30 caravans appeared yesterday evening at Guildford's Stoke Park with police officers "monitoring the situation closely."
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Officers say they are currently powerless to evict the 'travellers'
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Surrey Police have visited the makeshift caravan site but are unable to evict the caravans and their owners.
Cops said they are working closely with Guildford Borough Council, which owns the 130-acre town centre park, to monitor the encampment.
More than 30 caravans and a number of cars appeared overnight, setting up camp on one of the playing fields in the park uninvited.
The quiet greenspace quickly began to resemble a caravan site with cops becoming involved.
The force have said that the large encampment does not currently meet the threshold of powers available to police to manage unauthorised encampments.
Officer's powers to manage encampments are "reliant on certain criteria with regards to damage, disruption, or distress" according to Surrey Police.
Cops paid a visit to the site after it was reported to them but concluded that nothing could be done about the pop up camp.
Surrey Police said they will continue to review the criteria to judge whether the threshold to evict the camper vans had been met.
Images of the encampment show the caravans parked in a haphazard style on a playing pitch.
A set of goalposts can be seen in the background of one of the pictures with the caravans blocking a large area of the pitch.
Moment French farmers use tractors to spray hordes of squatters with manure
The campers appear to have generators and gas canisters hooked up to them as the owners look to be settling in for a long stay.
Each of the caravans seems to have come with its own car to tow it along, taking up even more space in the leafy suburb.
Officers have so far been completely powerless to evict the caravan owners with locals forced to put up with the encampment for the time being.
A police spokesperson said: "We are aware of an unauthorised encampment of around 30 caravans and 28 other vehicles in Stoke Park, which arrived yesterday evening (August 12).
"Officers visited the site and will continue to monitor the situation while working closely with our partners at Guildford Borough Council, who own the land.
"The powers available to police to manage unauthorised encampments under Sections 60, 61, and 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 are reliant on meeting certain criteria with regards to damage, disruption, or distress.
"It was judged that the encampment does not currently meet this threshold, but the relevant sections of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to judge whether the criteria to direct the site to be vacated has been met."
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