Residents are frustrated, angry and fearful in equal measure after a group of travellers arrived at a playing field for the third time in six weeks.

The travellers began arriving at Hook Meadow off Walderslade Road in Chatham at about 8pm yesterday.

Police were called and around eight officers in four vehicles used their cars to block the access to the field to prevent more arrivals.

But at 10pm they left and another four caravans turned up.

This morning there were 18 caravans in the field.

Whereas before, the travellers had to break down a fence or cut a padlock on the gate to gain access, this time residents say they had it easy because Medway Council had not replaced the padlock since the last travellers were evicted on Saturday night.

It is not known whether the travellers are the same families that had previously occupied Hook Meadow or new ones. But a travellers’ camp at Penenden Heath in Maidstone, had been moved on that same afternoon.

Residents near Hook Meadow say they are now living in fear, after facing hostility and anti-social behaviour before.

One lady who asked not to be named said: “People are frightened to go out and leave their properties unoccupied in case they are broken into.

“Last time, people has garden furniture stolen and we were all subjected to the travellers’ children repeatedly banging on our doors and windows, sometimes at 11 or 12 o’clock at night.”

She also reported looking out her window and seeing a man openly urinating in the field in front of her.

Luke Cook, of Meadside Walk, said his partner had taken their dog and children and had gone to stay with her mother while the travellers were there.

He said: “Last time, she was walking the dog when three men came across and started pestering her.

“She felt they wanted to steal the dog and she ran home.

“She just doesn’t feel safe when they're here.

“Previously, I found a man walking through my front door, which we had regrettably left unlocked, and on several other occasions our CCTV also picked up children trying our doors and windows.”

Residents are frustrated with the council for not taking more effective action to keep the travellers off the site – and also with the police.

On the first occasion, at the start of June, the lock on the gate to the field was cut with an angle grinder.

On the second occasion only a week ago, the travellers first broke down the fence in Walderslade Road to gain access but later also cut through the lock again.

Mr Cook said: “I saw three men, aged in their early 20s, breaking the lock. I called the police, as I have on every similar occasion, but they didn't even bother to attend.”

Mr Cook is so frustrated with the lack of police action that he has made an official complaint to Kent Police.

Residents also complain of the travellers defecating in the bushes and said that last time, cars would race around the field at two in the morning with engines roaring and their headlights blazing into people’s windows.

One woman said the travellers had also set two large fires.

She said: “They were throwing everything on: wood, furniture, mattresses that sent black smoke across the road.

“But when the fire brigade attended, the travellers wouldn’t let them put out the fire. The firefighters were intimidated and left.

“The second camp was worse than the first. They left the field in a terrible mess. There was litter and human waste all over the place.

“The council sent a team along on Sunday and they did a very good job of clearing it up. But we had just two clear days, and now they are back.

“This field is supposed to be for the community but now we can’t use it.

People are intimidated. It’s just not right.

“Football matches have been cancelled and people are afraid to walk their dogs. A group of boys did try to use the basketball court last time and they were chased off by the travellers.

“People are intimidated. It’s just not right.

“On top of that, there is the cost – the cost of the council going to court to get an eviction notice; the cost of the enforcement officers; the cost of repairing the damage and of cleaning up the mess.

“It’s all going on our council tax bills.”

Cllr Trevor Clarke (Con) is the ward councillor for the area. He said: “This is a very distressing situation for the residents.”

“I have spoken to council officers and they believe that some of the vans there today were there previously and so are still subject to the previous eviction order. Therefore it should be possible to move them on quite quickly.

“Until two months ago, there had never been travellers on this site; now we’ve had them three times. I do hope Medway isn’t being seen as a soft touch for them.
“I have asked police what prosecutions are taking place, beyond just the eviction, because there clearly have been a number of offences committed, but I have received no answer.

“It’s very disappointing. Everybody should be treated equally and fairly, but it seems there are certain sections of the community who never seem to suffer the appropriate consequences for their actions.”

Cllr Clarke said that in the longer term there was a need for increased security around Hook Meadow. He said: “Elsewhere the creation of an earth bund has been very effective, and we could put in more bollards, but there is always a balance to be had. You don’t want it to end up looking like a prison.”

Medway Council has been contacted for comment.

Kent Police said: “Just before 8pm on Tuesday, August 1, we were called to reports of an unlawful encampment on Hook Meadow, Walderslade. Officers attended and are liaising with the owners of the land, Medway Council”.