The costs incurred from a traveller encampment in Dereham topped thousands of pounds, a council has revealed.
More than £5,000 is expected to be forked out by Dereham Town Council after a dozen caravans entered the Recreation Ground on the evening of Friday, 4 July.
The town council clerk, Tony Needham, has called the encampment “the biggest in 10 to 15 years”, and also revealed the extent of the damage caused during the travellers’ three-day stay at what locals call The Rec.
The group reportedly broke the Rec’s locks, ripped out a trampoline in the play area, and left excrement around the site.
The largest cost to the council was the employment of the enforcement agents at £4,200.
While the travellers complied with the orders to leave, the agents still had to prepare tow trucks in case they had not, which contributed to the hefty bill.
The trampoline, which is currently out of action after it was ripped from its foundations, will cost around £500 to repair.
Excrement was left in the space where it had been ripped, with other excrement also found on sections of a climbing frame, costing Dereham Town Council £100 to clean up.
Around £90 has also been spent to replace the broken locks with upgraded more secure alternatives.
Beyond the initial repairs, the final costs are expected to rise beyond £5,000 as the council looks to fortify the town from future visits.
In addition to upgrading the Recreation Ground, discussions are being had on adding measures to other open spaces that may be susceptible to future encampments, such as Countryside Park in Neatherd Moor.
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Mr Needham stressed that the visit has cost the town not just finances but also manhours.
The clerk was joined by members of the police to hand the initial eviction notice to the group at 5.30 on Saturday morning.
He said: “It’s all time that myself and the police are not doing other things that the public want.
“It’s not just about the cost we’ve spent now, we’ll be having to look at whether we spend more money on making sites harder for travellers to get on to.
“You’ve got your ongoing costs. If it's going to cost four to five thousand every time how much do we spend to prevent it from happening in the future?
“It’s all a bit of a game to them.”
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