Travellers 'invade' council car park for the fourth time after bypassing £18,000 fence put up to stop them

Published: 01:13, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 01:17, 17 April 2026 Families are furious after travellers 'invaded' a council car park despite it spending £18,000 on fencing to stop them.  Dozens of travellers arrived at the recreation ground in Sittingbourne, Kent, after allegedly removing a bollard from the ground to gain entry.  The local authority had spent £18,000 on new fencing after travellers repeatedly gained entry last year.  It is the latest traveller 'land grab' after others in Kent and Surrey, and Flamstead in Hertfordshire.  Despite this, a new group gained entry this week and then left numerous bags of rubbish on Milton Recreation Ground.  The travellers are thought to have used an angle grinder to cut through a bollard and remove it so they could drive onto the land.  It comes after the local council spent £18,000 on new fencing.  They only spent around 24 hours at the park before being moved on, but council officials still had to visit to remove bags of rubbish they had left behind.  Pictured: fencing and bollards have been added to the park in a bid to prevent the travellers from entering - to no avail  Locals are furious about the invasion, which happened despite the council spending £18,000 to try and prevent it  Pictured: Paul Hubbard, 69, a local resident, said he was 'deeply concerned' they had gained entry  Local residents said they were 'appalled' they had managed to gain entry - despite thousands being spent on fencing.  Paul Hubbard, 69, said he was 'deeply concerned' they had gained entry.  He told the Daily Mail: 'I think it's ridiculous. They spent all of that money stopping them but they have just been able to get on straight away.  'It didn't take them long. They just do whatever they want. They act with impunity.  'I think police knew who some of them were and they had injunctions against them. So they were able to act quicker than usual. But I just think what was the point of the bollards really?  'Also, you have to consider the cost of the police and the council turning up. That would have been thousands more.'  Terry Hunt, 56, has lived in Sittingbourne for 30 years and said it was a 'worrying' situation.  Waste removal official Lee Dodds said the council had to do two visits to remove all the rubbish  It has been the fourth time that travellers have invaded Milton Recreation Ground (pictured) They only spent around 24 hours at the park before being moved on, but council officials still had to visit to remove bags of rubbish they had left behind The plumber said: 'They were here a few times last year. It's sad they spent thousands removing them but then have done exactly the same.  'I have no doubt they will be back. They do whatever they want. The police are scared of them. It's a joke.'  They also allegedly used the toilets without permission.  Another local said: 'They've left a right mess. The council waste people have had to come twice because there was so much rubbish.  'Why is this allowed to happen? Some of the rubbish looks like it is from Guildford in Surrey. So they could be from anywhere.'  Lee Dodds, a waste removal worker for Swale Borough Council, had the council had to visit twice to remove the waste.  He said: 'This is the second visit, my colleagues removed more rubbish earlier today.'  Swale Borough Council was approached for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.