Football games may be cancelled as travellers move in

Saturday football games in Penwortham are unlikely to go ahead after a group of travellers moved on to the playing fields.
By The Newsroom
Published 31st Aug 2017, 15:32 BST
Updated 11th Sep 2017, 13:13 BST
Travellers have moved on to the Penwortham Holme recreation groundTravellers have moved on to the Penwortham Holme recreation ground
Travellers have moved on to the Penwortham Holme recreation ground

The large group of travellers arrived on the Penwortham Holme recreation ground on Wednesday.Around 20 caravans are camped on the site – a popular venue for Saturday and Sunday amateur football games – and the council says they are unlikely to be gone by the weekend.Councillor Graham Walton, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Street Scene at South Ribble council said: “As soon as we received reports that Travellers had illegally moved on to the land at Penwortham Holme, we quickly started the necessary proceedings to have them removed.“Although we are working through the legal process as fast as possible, it is unlikely that sports fixtures planned for the weekend will be able to be played.“We will assess the damage caused to the pitches by the number of vehicles moving on to the area as soon as the Travellers leave.“Following similar instances in the past, we erected barriers in an attempt to stop it happening again.“However, these have been breached and we are now looking at installing more definitive preventive measures as soon as the site is cleared.”