A local council has buckled to a group of travellers by handing them toilets and bins after they group returned to a popular park just weeks after being removed.
Families living near Devonport Park, in Plymouth, say they were not able to use the park as a group of travellers moved to the site on Wednesday morning.
Images posted to social media showed five caravans and assorted vehicles parked on the site.
It is the second time in recent weeks that the park has been used by travellers, with a previous unauthorised encampment being forced out at the end of June.
On that occasion, the travellers, who arrived on the site in May, ignored a Notice to Quit order which resulted in Plymouth City Council having to go through the court process of securing a possession order hearing.
One resident told PlymouthLive: "Travellers back yet again in Devonport Park. Council is so thick. they had every opportunity to secure the park and did nothing.
"Right on school holidays. No doubt we won't be able to use the park again."
The council has since responded, saying that they were aware of the new unauthorised encampment at Devonport Park, alongside another one at Prince Rock Playing Fields.
The travellers had arrived on the site
A spokesman said: "The encampment at Prince Rock Playing Fields remain in situ. This group were served a Notice to Quit last week which has since expired and we are now applying to the court for a Possession Order.
"We are aware of a new encampment at Devonport Park. We know that this is an area valued by residents and we have started the legal process for removal.
"So that the area can be kept as tidy as possible, and to minimise clean-up costs afterwards, toilets and bins have already been provided to the group.
"The previous encampment at Knowle Battery has now departed. The area has been cleaned by our Street Service team."
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Travellers on the site in Plymouth
Residents living near the Devonport Park site have also complained that travellers had been engaging in antisocial behaviour through the last few months, with some even claiming that they have seen individuals using air-rifles on local wildlife.
One nearby resident said the travellers were "occupying both football pitches, allowing their chickens to graze, riding quad-bikes on pedestrian pathways, abusing passers-by, lighting fires, causing children's events to be cancelled, dumping litter, using the park as a base for their business and are rumoured to be using firearms on the wildlife".
They added that they were "disappointed by the lack of response by the council and police" claiming they had written to the local councillor without response.
They told PlymouthLive: "The police have been contacted by many people, but appear impotent."
Back in May, one resident living nearby said they were "horrified to see the Travellers who have set up home are keeping chickens in small cramped metal cages with no food or water [and] no roofs."
A spokesman from Devonport and West Plymouth Neighbourhood Team said: "We are aware of the unauthorised encampment in Devonport Park.
"Whilst we understand how frustrating it is for residents to lose access to part of this recreational ground again, please be assured that we are working with the local authorities on this issue.
"We are supporting the local council, who will lead in the response to the encampment.
"We urge people to think carefully before commenting on social media and to report any criminal or antisocial behaviour to police by 999 (emergency) or 101 (non-emergency), or through the online reporting system on the Devon and Cornwall police website."
However, locals have voiced frustrations with Plymouth City Council over its handling of the traveller community since 2011.
In 2023, a council spokesman said: "The type of unauthorised encampments that we see in Plymouth are not in anyone’s best interest.
"They unsettle residents, cost the council money and do not provide the appropriate facilities for the Gypsy, Roma and Travelling community.
"We have long held an ambition to establish Temporary Stopping Sites (TSPs) for the GRT community to use while they visit the city.
"This would allow the police to use their powers to immediately direct any unauthorised encampment to a TSP.
"We have not been able to progress this because of the challenge of finding a location for TSPs within the city boundary and suitable for both the settled and GRT communities. Work on this continues."