A call has been made for a change in the law to make it easier to evict travellers from illegal encampments.
The move by central Fife MP Lindsay Roy and supported by Fife Council follows complaints about a ”disgusting mess” left behind by travellers camped on private land in Glenrothes.
Mr Roy has contacted the Scottish Parliament about the issue, after people were seen urinating in public and uncontrolled dogs were left to roam. He has also written to Chief Constable Andrew Barker to ask why the police did not act on complaints about littering and urinating.
Although the Glenrothes encampment, on a privately-owned car park in Eastfield industrial estate, has now moved on, Mr Roy said a local firm had been badly affected by it and was annoyed nothing had been done to tackle the issues.
Fife Police said the force followed national guidance, but a senior officer was reviewing the response to the Glenrothes incident.
The company in question has asked not the be named for fear of reprisals but, speaking on its behalf, the MP said staff had felt threatened, customers were affected and they considered their property was at risk.
”Staff and visitors to their premises had to contend with uncontrolled dogs roaming around, travellers’ children were found playing in the firm’s grounds, nearby woods were being used as a toilet, water was drawn from a hydrant, and a woman was seen urinating in full view of their building and members of the public,” Mr Roy said.
”When the travellers eventually departed, they left behind a disgusting mess.” He added: ”This is the third time this year that the company in question has suffered the consequences of travellers setting up an illegal encampment close to their premises and they are quite rightly fed up that nothing effective is being done to deal with the issues.
”We all know that there is a policy of non-harassment as far as travelling people go but what about the harassment that ordinary people suffer because of their actions? If this had been an ordinary member of the public, action would, quite rightly, have been taken against them.”
A police spokesman said: ”Fife Constabulary, in common with forces across Scotland, operates to national guidance in relation to the management of unauthorised encampments.
”The guidance was compiled after extensive consultation and recognises the sensitivities of issues which arise from such sites both from the point of view of gypsy travellers and from local residents.
”We continue to liaise with Fife Council, the lead agency in these cases, and other interested parties. A senior officer is currently reviewing Fife Constabulary’s response to this incident.”
John Mills, Fife Council’s senior housing manager, said: ”The council supports Mr Roy in his call for a change to the law to enable a more pro-active approach to be taken by the council in partnership with the police to seek a better solution.
”The council is also seeking to establish a small number of temporary stopover sites to direct travellers to who need to encamp on a short-term basis.”