A public Midsummer’s Eve event has been cancelled after travellers set up camp on Birmingham playing fields.
A group of caravans and other vehicles first arrived on the King George’s Playing Fields, on Sutton Oak Road, on Tuesday, June 16, with their numbers increasing all the time.
A Midsummer’s Eve for the community to bring a chair, drink and share their memories of the park, was scheduled to take place on Saturday (June 20), from 7.30pm to late.
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Sadly, organisers have been left with “no option” but to postpone the event after visitors expressed fears about coming.
There is no word on when the group is due to be evicted from the open green space.
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A post on Facebook said: “POSTPONED
“Because of the growing g number of travellers’ caravans and vehicles on the field and people’s reluctance to join us we felt we had no choice.
“We hope to reschedule but it won’t be Midsummer.
“In the meantime we have our meeting next Thursday, 25th June at the Community Church, Westwood Road, when we’ll have all the material we’d prepared for tomorrow and an update on the traveller situation. Please come.”
Locals claimed the travellers had broken-in via a padlocked main gate.
The council said there were alternative sites for travellers across the city.
” Birmingham City Council is committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it,” it previously said in a statement.
“The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community – which is in line with Government policy.
“Details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website.”