Football matches cancelled due to traveller camp

Several youth football matches were cancelled over the weekend after a group of travellers set up camp on a sports ground in Nottingham.

A number of caravans accessed the site through a fence of the Dave Eastwood Sports Ground off Lenton Lane on Friday evening.

The pitches are home to Pelican Colts FC, which has teams from under sevens to under 18s.

Jemma Marriott, a parent and volunteer at the club, said: "Parents are frustrated. It’s had an impact all round for everybody really, not just us, but other teams because the away teams, they’ve not been able to play either."

Ms Marriot, whose three children were due to play, said this is the third traveller camp to access the site in the last 18 months.

She added there is a concern around the financial impact of the club, which has hundreds of players in several age groups.

"They’re quite upset because it’s the start of the new season," she said.

"To have them removed we would have to pay for a move on order but with us being non-profit organisation, we don't have those funds available."

She added that the travellers are keeping themselves to themselves but it is a long process for them to leave the land.

She feels there needs to be a better strategy in place to accommodate travellers who move around the country.

"All councils should come together and arrange an area within the city, throughout the country for them to be able to move from camp to camp and live the lifestyle they'd like to live without affecting anybody else," she said.

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