Trashed! West London park is turned into a rubbish dump by travellers who leave behind 50 tons of waste after staying for just THREE days

Travellers came south to Gunnersbury Park from the Appleby Horse Fair



Around 70 people came in 17 caravans and set up camp at the beauty spot

Hounslow Council estimates the cleaning bill will be in excess of £18,000



It is one of the capital’s most beautiful parks, enjoyed by thousands who visit each day to stroll through 200 acres of landscaped gardens.

But Gunnersbury Park in West London has been ‘desecrated and despoiled’ by travellers who left 50 tons of rubbish and filth after illegally camping there for just three days.

The once perfectly manicured lawns have been churned up by cars, the turf of a cricket pitch destroyed and a picturesque bluebell wood transformed into a hazardous swamp of refuse – all at a cost to the taxpayer of tens of thousands of pounds.

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Wrecked by travellers: Some of the 50 tons of waste left strewn across Gunnersbury Park

Discord: Among the detritus left littering the inner London beauty spot was this smashed piano

Piles of waste, including a piano, sofas, mattresses, prams, lawn mowers, dirty nappies, toys and vast amounts of building rubble, have been left without any care or consideration.

A local school sports day was cancelled, along with a weekend charity run, because of health and safety fears.

Police said the travellers had come to London after attending Appleby Horse Fair in the Lake District, Europe’s largest gathering of the travelling community, where piles of rubbish were also left strewn in their wake.



They are expecting more to arrive and migrate from park to park around southern England.

Intimidating: One of the travellers yesterday

Itinerant: The community has now moved on to nearby Blondin Park, pictured, and set up camp there

Around 70 men, women and children in 17 caravans turned up at Grade II-listed Gunnersbury Park, the former Georgian stately home of 19th century financier Nathan Rothschild, on Sunday evening.

Then, with wilful abandon, they proceeded to destroy the much-loved grounds and terrorise park-users.

Hounslow Council, which estimates the clean-up bill will exceed £18,000, applied to the courts for an eviction notice. Meanwhile, police received reports of travellers – armed with guns – trying to run over walkers in their cars and threatening to kill their dogs.

So worrying did the situation become that, as a last resort, the park was closed on Wednesday evening.

But within a few hours the group moved to a nearby park, where they have set up camp again. Gunnersbury has now been tentatively re-opened.

Dumped: Police said the travellers had come to London after attending Appleby Horse Fair in the Lake District. They are expecting more to arrive and migrate from park to park around southern England

Desecrated: The once perfectly manicured lawns have been churned up by cars, the turf of a cricket pitch destroyed and a picturesque bluebell wood transformed into a hazardous swamp of refuse Yesterday the travellers threatened to attack anyone caught getting too close or taking photos of their new camp – Blondin Park in Ealing, a popular children’s play area in an affluent residential area. One man said to the Daily Mail: ‘If you don’t **** off, I’m going to put my ******* foot through your camera. I do not mind going to prison for what I will do to you.’ The heavily tattooed, muscular man added: ‘You do not have a right to be here. I will get all my friends here, then you’ll be sorry.’ The police soon arrived and asked the Press and local residents to leave for their own safety.

Disrespect: Around 70 men, women and children in 17 caravans turned up at Grade II-listed Gunnersbury Park, the former Georgian stately home of 19th century financier Nathan Rothschild, on Sunday evening

Threatening: With abandon, they proceeded to destroy the much-loved grounds and terrorise park-users

Guns: Police received reports of armed travellers in cars trying to run over walkers and threatening to kill dogs

The legal process to remove travellers from illicit sites is a lengthy and costly one, with cash-strapped councils having to apply to the courts for eviction notices.

Ealing Council leader Julian Bell said he was outraged by the actions of the travellers and wished there was a swifter way to move them.

He said: ‘Our parks are being desecrated and despoiled. The beautiful green spaces around here are why people live in this glorious part of West London. It greatly angers me and it comes at such an enormous cost to the taxpayer.

‘This is not about there being any prejudice to the traveller way of life – in Ealing we have a designated park where they can stay. It is about the mess left behind, the fly-tipping, the anti-social behaviour and intimidation of park users.

‘Parks are there for everyone to enjoy, they are not campsites to be trashed. I wish we had more powers to deal with this quickly, but our hands are tied by the courts.’

Abandoned: A school sports day was cancelled, along with a charity run, because of health and safety fears

Big job: A clean up crew can be seen in the background behind a sofa which lies dumped on the green space

'Our parks are being desecrated and despoiled': An eviction notice taped to a tree in Gunnersbury Park. Ealing Council leader Julian Bell, right in Blondin Park, said he was outraged by the actions of the travellers



Police at the scene: Yesterday the travellers threatened to attack anyone caught getting too close or taking photos of their new camp - Blondin Park in Ealing, a popular children's play area in an affluent residential area

Hounslow Police confirmed they had received several complaints of anti-social behaviour, including one of a man in a car with a gun.

One regular dog walker said that in addition to the piles of rubbish, there was also human excrement. ‘One of my dogs came back from sniffing around the rubbish covered in it,’ she said.

‘I walked past their “camp” yesterday with a few fellow dog walkers and a car with two young guys in it came speeding across the field at 30-plus miles per hour.

‘I told them to slow down and just got abuse back. They nearly hit one of the little dogs.’

Tranquil: Gunnersbury Park as it usually looks

A man who runs a dog walking business said: ‘They left such a mess – piles of wood with nails in and tins of toxic paint. This is dangerous for dogs and other animals that live in the park, such as rabbits and squirrels.

‘What upsets me is not that they camped here illegally, but that they trashed the park so much. No one has a right to do that. It’s heartbreaking to see.’

A police spokesman said that following the report of a man in a car with a gun, specialist armed officers had been sent to the park.