A couple have described their “week of hell” living next to an unauthorised encampment of travellers near Holmfirth High School.

John Wilson and Margaret Whittle said that playing fields at Sycamore Recreation Ground normally used for football and other games had been turned into a rubbish tip with gas canisters, faeces, food cans and pizza boxes strewn all around.

The couple were disgusted to see children aged about seven or eight defecating in bushes at their end of their garden.

And they said the noise from generators at the site had been intolerable.

They have seen dogs, hens and cockerels running loose, stone walls being taken apart and men urinating and vomiting on the playing fields off Springwood Road.

The couple were forced to take time off work because they are too frightened to leave their home.

Ms Whittle, 65, a company secretary, witnessed the travellers smashing a padlock from a gate to gain access to the site last Wednesday.

She said the lock was removed by men armed with an axe, a hammer and a jemmy.

“We have borne the brunt of it all,” she said.

“The mess they have left is horrendous. We’ve seen dogs roaming around, men urinating and one being sick. They have been out (to work) cutting trees and dumping them on the playing fields.”

She said car horns and generators could be heard all day and night, causing nearby householders “astronomical stress.”

Travellers leave piles of rubbish at Sycamore rec, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth.
Travellers leave piles of rubbish at Sycamore rec, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth.

The couple approached the travellers about children in their garden only to be told that all their little ones were tucked up in bed.

“After they said it we handed them an 18-month-old child we found in our garden,” said Mrs Wilson.

She said children had used the edge of their garden as a toilet on several occasions.

Husband John, 56, described their ordeal as “horrendous” and a “week of hell”.

He added: “I have been constantly chasing kids and dogs out of the garden. We found children squatting and defecating between the hedge and wall. I’ve had to clear up all the mess.”

Although some travellers left on Tuesday, a number of caravans, vans and other vehicles were still there on Wednesday this week.

Mr Wilson has called on Kirklees Council to improve security to prevent people accessing the site so easily in future.

The council has previously confirmed that it had started the legal process to remove the travellers from the camp at the Sycamore Recreation Ground.

The presence of the caravans and vans on the field has prevented sports being played on the fields.

West Yorkshire Police – whose officers were spotted at the camp this week – has been approached for comment.