Dog walkers on Perth’s South Inch have had to dodge more than 30 illegally parked caravans plus lorries and fairground trailers.
An angry resident, concerned they have set up camp to compete with Perth Show, which start next Friday, complained to the council on Monday after spotting a procession of large vehicles “churning up the grass.”
The green area across from St-Leonards-in-the-Field church, owned by Perth Common Good Fund, has never been used for a funfair. Perth and Kinross Council confirmed the vehicles were parked without permission and those res-ponsible had been asked to leave.
It is the second time in less than a month Perth residents have found a travellers’ encampment set up in their midst. The local authority spent a week pressuring a group stationed on land in the Auld Bond area to move at the start of the month.
The concerned resident said, “Whether it’s travellers or ‘showies’, these sort of people don’t seem to have any concern for the local landscape.
“I was out walking my dog when I saw the lorries driving over the wet grass, you can see the deep muddy marks the tyres left. The park is normally used by a lot of people, but with all the mess they will now think twice. There were teenagers on quad bikes driving around the lorries yesterday.
“Something has to be done about it. You can’t just pitch up on a piece of public land and expect to get away with it.
“I remember my mate wanted to hold a charity concert on that part of the Inch a few years ago and was told no. It’s local taxpayers that will have to pay for any clean-up afterwards.
A council spokeswoman said the equipment was owned by M&Ds, who have a public entertainment licence but no lease to park on the South Inch.
She added, “I can confirm that funfair equipment and associated caravans are currently parked without permission from the council as the land owner on the South Inch. We have contacted those responsible and asked them to leave and will monitor the situation.”
The council has not contacted Tayside Police but were advised by the force that members of the public have been in touch with them about the matter.