A Nottingham youth football club has shared pictures of the 'messy' aftermath of a traveller camp on its pitch. The camp on Dave Eastwood Sports Ground, off Lenton Lane, was first reported on Tuesday, July 4.
More than a dozen caravans had been stationed on the pitch of the Pelican Colts football club, items had been littered across the playing field, and benches had been broken. A representative for the club, which was stopped from hosting youth matches after a short break, said the encampment not only meant children were left disappointed but endangered the existence of the club itself.
In an update, a Pelican Colts spokesperson said the group had been evicted from the pitch on Thursday, July 6, leaving behind a substantial mess for volunteers to clean up at the end of the week. "Thankfully they did not break into any of the main buildings, which would have been awful," the spokesperson said.
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"In terms of damage it is not as bad as we thought. It was mostly the mess that was bad: painting on the buildings, lots of plastic and bin bags, and dirty clothes.
"They also ripped up our benches and took out our equipment. A bucket of screws and bolts was also emptied onto the grass, but thankfully a parent had a metal detector and magnet - otherwise we would have been picking them up still now."
As a result of the hard work of volunteers and parents, the Pelican Colts' pitch will be open tomorrow night (July 11) for training. The club explained it was looking to implement measures to further secure the pitch in the future and thanked supporters.
A GoFundMe fundraiser was launched aiming for £500 to help the club recover, which now stands at £1,950. A spokesperson added: "We are absolutely humbled by the help from parents, but also from Riverside golf centre, Nottingham Outlaws, and Dunkirk F.C."
The money raised will go towards repairing the small amount of damage, replacing items that were broken or lost, securing towards the perimeter, and paying the bailiffs who served the eviction on Thursday.
