TRAVELLERS have set up an illegal encampment near rugby pitches - with locals claiming that the group have taken to empting chemical toilets and defacating underneath the rugby posts.

The encampment was set up last Friday (May 24) near the pitches at Caerleon RFC, shortly after the club offices closed for the Bank Holiday weekend.

Since then, people who use and work at the site have been enraged by some of the behaviour at the encampment, which they said posed safety risks to the young children who played on the fields.

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The rugby club's junior presentation, held to mark the end of the season, has reportedly been cancelled as a result.

Gareth Williams, who teaches taekwondo to more than 50 children at the site, said he had witnessed people from the encampment driving erratically across the playing fields at speed, sometimes using their mobile phones while driving.

"I've got no issue with their lifestyle, it's just the damage and the waste that they're causing," he said.

"What bothers me is that it's affecting all the kids. The mess is unacceptable."

Mr Williams contacted the council shortly after the Travellers arrived last week, he said, adding that Gwent Police had visited the site since then.

"Words fail me," he said when describing how people from the encampment had allegedly defecated on the sports pitches.

In a statement, a Newport City Council spokeswoman said the local authority "shares the frustration of residents over illegal encampments, especially on sensitive sites such as the one in Caerleon."

She added: "Newport City Council has signed up to a Gwent regional protocol, with Gwent Police and the four other councils for the management of unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller encampments.

"It has to follow the correct legal processes, asses the situation and involve partners so assessments can be carried out before action is decided.

"This could result in going through the courts to seek eviction from council-owned land, which can take time.

"Meanwhile, officers and the police will continue to monitor the situation and make arrangements to try and minimise the impact of the encampment on the area."