A PENSIONER says he is sick of travellers setting up camp near his home in Stevenston because of the apparent mess they leave behind.

Peter Blackman, 67, says he is fed up complaining to the council about the travellers who return to the site in Ardeer every year.

He told the Herald: “You want to see the mess they have done down here. It’s terrible the council allow this. You would think bulldozers have run through the grass.

“It’s all dug up, there’s rubbish everywhere. The car park is just all muck and they’ve run all over the golf course.

“I think it’s a disgrace. I’ve been fighting for this for two years to get something done. I’m sick of it, fed up with it.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We take our responsibilities regarding gypsy travellers seriously and always look to strike a balance between the needs and legitimate expectations of members of the settled community and the gypsy/travellers.

“The encampment at Ardeer was reported to our Gypsy/Traveller Encampment Officer on Friday June 2 and an assessment of the encampment was undertaken immediately.

“As the Ardeer Recreation area is a public, open space in regular use, the council has deemed it unsuitable for encampments. The council therefore served notice for the travellers to be off site by Monday, June 5. The travellers failed to meet this deadline and therefore we started legal proceedings. A decree for eviction was granted at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Thursday (June 8) and the travellers subsequently left the area.

“We are aware that some damage was caused due to the travellers’ vehicles camping on the grass and will arrange for this damage to be repaired. We will also assess what measures can be taken to restrict vehicular access to this area in future. A small amount of refuse was left behind by the travellers and this has now been cleared.”