CONCERNS have been raised after a group of travellers moved onto Dracaena Playing Fields in Falmouth yesterday evening, just at the start of the football season.

The travellers, who appear to be Irish, moved onto the fields early yesterday evening.

Falmouth Packet:

When told to leave one traveller said they would be gone in the morning while another told one man to get back in his 'f***ing' car and 'f**k off'.

Police have been down to the site first thing and told the travellers that they should not be on the field and that many people on the nearby estate have raised concerns.

Falmouth Packet:

The police were down to talk to the travellers early this morning

However they are limited in what they can do because it is a civil matter and it will be up to the council to get the travellers' to move on as they did when another group moved onto the 'Hornworks' field near Pendennis Castle.

One resident who did not want to be identified said that many people felt 'uncomfortable' with the travellers' presence and was worried about what might happen if people took things into their own hands.

Falmouth Packet:

The travellers have moved onto the site, which is owned by Falmouth Town Council, just at the start of the football season with the pitch having had thousands of pounds spent on it to make it ready for football season.

There are now concerns that it will be wrecked and cost the taxpayer more money.

The Dracaena Centre is nearby and open day was supposed to be happening today but it is not clear whether it will still now go ahead.

Local Cornwall and town councillor Jayne Kirkham said the council would be seeking a repossesion order.

"The Dracaena Centre is running holiday clubs for children during the summer and the football pitches are in use by local children all the time," she said.

"Having people camping on them will damage them and impact on the children. It is completely the wrong place for a site."

Falmouth Packet:

Travellers who moved onto Redruth Football Club's ground recently trashed the clubhouse before they went, smashing up the toilets and covering the building, including the defibrillator, with paint.

A spokesperson for Falmouth Town Council told the Packet that there was a process that had to be followed to get the travellers to leave and unfortunately it wasn't always as quick as people would like.

"We will make efforts to resolve this situation and there is a process that needs to be followed. That process is not as quick as residents would like to see," they said.

Cornwall Council said as it did not own the land the repsonse was up to the landowner.