A GROUP of travellers have set up camp in the Newport Stadium car park. 

Newport Live, the charitable trust running the city’s sports and leisure centres, has confirmed that the group gained access to the stadium car park late on Sunday evening. 

There were around four caravans at the site this morning. 

It comes two months after Newport Live had to clean up more than 1,500 litres of rubbish left behind by another group at the Newport International Sports Village site in Spytty.

Speaking about the events in his ward, Lliswerry Councillor Allan Morris said yesterday: “This is very annoying news. A lot of people are picking up the bill for these occurrences.

“In the background, everything will be done to speed up the moving on of the travellers as soon as possible. 

“We need to look at access of these sites, the council spends a lot of money making places secure. 

“I don’t know if they have forced their way into the place but, when that’s the case, a lot of damage tends to happen.”

Neil Sargeant, operations director for Newport Live, added: “I can confirm that a small group of travellers gained access to the stadium car park late on Sunday evening.

“We are progressing with removing the travellers as soon as possible.”

Newport Council’s plans for a permanent gipsy and traveller site in Ringland were given the go-ahead last month, despite hundreds of objections over access to the site.

Under the plans, a 4.78 hectare site on Hartridge Farm Road, in Ringland, will be used by traveller families already living in Newport on illegal or unsuitable sites.