Time for action

As the manager of the Littlehampton Sportsfield – a facility providing two cricket squares, two football pitches, four lawn tennis courts, five croquet lawns and a stoolball pitch, with their attendant pavilions and stores – I am extremely concerned at the vulnerability of this facility to occupation by travellers.

I fully support the comments made by Dr James Walsh (Gazette, August 1), that the travellers know precisely what they can get away with and have no respect for authority, people or property.

The Sportsfield is extremely vulnerable to this sort of unauthorised occupation, with two vehicular gates, and has already been the victim of padlocks being broken by the ‘advance party’, before the attempted occupation by the remainder of the travellers.

Fortunately, the damage to the padlocks was witnessed and new locks were fitted before the invasion, although several suspicious vehicles slowed down when passing, to check the gates.

Locks and chains provide little resistance to the travellers, who see security as a challenge to overcome. It is costing a lot of time and man hours to keep the Sportsfield secure with chains, padlocks and the blocking of accesses.

It is, however, about time that the Government introduced legislation that would make the unauthorised occupation of land and property a criminal offence, where police can take action to enforce eviction, without the need for costly legal action to obtain court orders and eviction notices.

Hopefully, the three local authorities and the local MPs will pressure the Government to take action that is long overdue.

Hugh Milner, manager, Littlehampton Sportsfield

St Flora’s Road

Littlehampton