Opinion: ​Residents deserve police who use their power, writes Paul Bristow

On Sunday night, Travellers, yet again, gained access to a field and set up an illegal campsite in Peterborough, this time at the Werrington Rec, writes Peterborough MP Paul Bristow.

​They gained access on Hastings Road in Walton and concerned residents contacted me that evening.

I went to visit the site along with local councillors from Werrington on Monday morning.

Police attended the scene whilst I was there, which is reassuring but, make no mistake, I want to see the full force of the law enforced to prevent this happening again.

Residents expect and deserve nothing less.

In the Police, Courts, Crime and Sentencing Act that was passed last year, the police were given extra powers to deal with illegal encampments. New powers give police the ability to swiftly arrest and move on those that encamp on sites illegally.

Setting up an illegal camp is a criminal offence. It is punishable by a three month prison sentence or a fine of £2,500, or both, and the police now have the power to seize vehicles.

Now is the time to use these powers.

This is an ongoing problem across the country and Peterborough has put up with it for far too long.

‘Enough is enough’

During my time as MP I have visited sites and witnessed the aftermath in numerous areas of the city, including Eye, Thorney, Bretton and Werrington.

The clean up costs and risk to public health is always a major cause of concern. We all know these problems only get worse the longer an encampment remains.

I have seen mounds of binbags, beer bottles and cans, gas canisters, huge fly tips and even human faeces left after these illegal camps move on.

The sad fact is, someone has to clean this up, and I would not wish this task on anyone.

People have criticised my approach on the issue of illegal encampments in the past, but I would encourage them to visit these sites after they have moved on and see for themselves.

Not forgetting they will most likely move onto another illegal encampment and the cycle continues somewhere else.

These illegal camps often bring with them anti-social behaviour and excessive noise late into the night too.

‘Residents deserve better’

Residents have enough to worry about without having this on their doorstep. They deserve better.

I wrote to the chief constable after visiting the Werrington Rec, urging him to use new powers given him to crack down on this illegal campsite with a zero tolerance approach.

This is the only way we will deter others from doing this again in our city in the future.

Peterborough cannot become a soft touch for illegal Traveller encampments.

I trust the police will use new powers given to them by this Government to deal with this problem and put local residents’ concerns first.