An Aberdeenshire woman has slammed a landowner for failing to take any action to move on a group of travellers – 12 weeks after they pitched up.
Five caravans and a tent have set up camp near Broomhill, Kintore, on land owned by waste management firm Alpha Group.
The firm used to run their Alpha Plus base from the town, but now operate out of Livingston.
And Anne Grant, who lives near where the travellers pitched up in January, last night accused the firm of doing nothing to move the travellers on, despite them telling her they were seeking a court order to evict them several weeks ago.
Mrs Grant said she was at the “end of her tether” – not because the travellers have caused any noise problems, but as they had been there for 12 weeks with no toilet facilities.
She said: “It’s private land and we’ve had to have the road cleaned twice because they have been using it as a toilet.
“There’s grass at the back of the camp and houses which has become a health hazard because there’s so much human waste on it. There’s a burn round the back too and I’ve seen them in there twice.
“I’ve lost count of how many bare backsides I’ve seen when I’m walking the dog.
“Originally they said they would be there for two weeks but 12 weeks on, they are still there.
“When I contacted Alpha Plus they told me they had gone to court to get an eviction notice but that was weeks ago and nothing has happened.”
Last night Steve Matthews, managing director of the Alpha Group, said he had contacted the police but had been told they could do nothing to help move the group on – and was now facing the prospect of “picking up the tab” when they did leave.
He said: “The travellers took the gate down, so if that’s not unlawful I don’t know what is.
“One of the travellers gave me an offer to sell them the land but I don’t intend to do that, regardless of what they offer.
“The costs are all on me to go to court to evict them.
“I spoke to environmental health, I would have thought there would be laws to stop people doing their business on public ground.
“It’s a bit of a land that I’m going to have to pick up the tab for in terms of cleaning it when they do leave.”
The land where the travellers have pitched up is private, so it is up to the owner of the site, rather than the local authority, to evict them.
However, a spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said they were aware of the encampment and had been out to “monitor” the situation, and would continue to do so.
He said the authority would only provide toilets if the travellers were on council land, unless the landowner requested them and was willing to pay.
A police spokeswoman said the force had received a complaint about the encampment on March 10 from a local resident.
She added: “Since then we’ve provided advice to the landowner but we’ve not received any further complaints about the site.
“We have regularly engaged with the travellers and follow the Lord Advocate’s guidelines which are generally against the prosecution of unauthorised encampments.
“However, we will deal with any crimes or offences robustly, including vandalism or public defecation.”