Council bid to protect park

Travellers recently left Bradgate Park at Kimberworth, Rotherham, after a week camped there - leaving behind a mountain of unsighly rubbish including empty gas bottles.

The travellers have also been blamed for smashing down wooden fencing around the park.

Rotherham Council said it has been faced with the same problem every August for the past few years - and that the park now seems to be part of the travellers’ regular itinerary.

But it has rejected suggestions it should block off a nearby underpass.

Richard Bramall, the council’s enviro-crime manager, said: “Blocking the pedestrian or vehicular underpass in this particular area would not ease the situation because access by the travellers is gained by other routes.”