A GROUP of travellers have been spotted setting up camp in the car park of a local playing fields.

The travellers were first seen by a member of the public on Monday, October 8, in the car park of the Apperley Bridge Playing Fields, just behind the George and Dragon pub.

Pictures show at least a dozen caravans at the site which are also accompanied by work vans and a small digger.

The playing fields are council run and a number local sports teams use the football pitches for training and matches.

Several sources on a Facebook post about the caravans arriving said the car park is usually locked up.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "We are aware of travellers at this site and have started legal proceedings to get them to vacate."

The council's website states that Liaison Officers can sometimes find space for travellers on the local authority’s permanent sites.

But, space is limited and some travellers only want to stay in the area for a short time, the website says.

There are authorised campsites at Esholt and Bowling Back Lane.

This is the fifth different site in Bradford that travellers have used in the last two months.

It began on August 15 when caravans and work vans set up camp on private farm land in Cottingley.

They left the grass littered with rubbish, breeze blocks and debris after a court ordered them to leave six days later.

Traveller camps have appeared in the King George V Playing Fields (in Bolton Woods), Peel Park and, most recently, at a location in Harrogate Road since.

The camp at the King George V Playing Fields caused some Bolton Woods Junior Football Club games to be cancelled or re-arranged.

You can see the chaos that was caused at two of the previous sites here.