Birmingham news: WW1-style trenches won't stop travellers from living on our doorsteps, enraged locals tell council

WW1-style trenches won't stop travellers from living on our doorsteps, enraged locals tell council Birmingham City Council have tried to combat the issue once and for all Sign up to the News Newsletter Email address Sign up I agree to receive updates and information about my account, the GB News Community, and related products and services from GB News. By signing up you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Community Rules. Thank you for signing up! See the latest from GB News here . Choose GB News on Google - add us as a preferred source Choose GB News Support GB News Champion free speech and independent journalism while unlocking exclusive benefits. Support us World War One-style trenches will not stop travellers from living on residents' doorsteps, enraged locals have told their council. In what has been described as an extended game of "whack-a-mole", locals have been becoming increasingly frustrated at the travellers pitching up next door to their homes – many of whom leave behind swathes of waste. Local authorities in the past would try to use legal routes to their advantage, but the travellers simply returned and popped up in another area of town. Birmingham City Council tried to combat the issue once and for all by digging trenches around some of the city's most pertinent parks to prevent the illegal groups from settling there. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Their efforts focused on Daisy Farm Park in Highter’s Heath and Manningford Park in Druids Heath over the past several weeks. Over in Chinn Brook, characterised by its quaint, picturesque greenery, has had a trench installed around the area, accompanied by concrete blocks put up behind the gates. Still, locals remain unimpressed. Members of Friends of Chinn Brook, a volunteer group which is burdened with clearing up after the trash-tossing travellers, have criticised the council's inability to handle the mounting issue. The council said the intervention is part of 'broader toolkit of options' | GETTY Angela Glen, 45, said: "It’s been constant for the last four years with travellers arriving up to seven times a year. "It is a nightmare. This summer I had to warn people not to come here with children because of the amount of human waste had made it environmentally unsafe. "They bag up rubbish and then chuck it deep into the bushes so their dogs don’t rip it open. The Council weren’t going after that waste so it was left to the Friends of the Park groups." Ms Glen admitted she felt that the authority had been "taking the mick" so the rubbish clearing group elected to stop their valiant efforts. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Travellers descend on £1.5million leafy London suburb next to ancient woodland Travellers spark outrage after leaving local area a dump when abandoning illegal campsite Couple demand refund after travellers pitch up next to £3million home Council efforts focused on Daisy Farm Park in Highter’s Heath and Manningford Park in Druids Heath | GOOGLE MAPS Still, she ceded that the council's latest move revealed that they were at least "listening to the locals and trying to make a difference". Meanwhile, a former policeman ripped into the "eyesore" trenches, adding: "It might stop them coming in but knowing the travellers they will find a way." He further warned the investment could have been "for nothing". Still, like Ms Glen, he hoped the trenches would act as a preventative measure. With his home backing onto the green, he said he worries about leaving his home empty. Even when walking his dog, the ex-officer said he was concerned over the travellers' dogs and horses, which are kept off-lead. A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "Increased encampment pressures, together with repeated damage to existing boundary infrastructure and access controls, have required the council to consider a wider range of preventative measures. "The use of ditches, bunds and other landscape interventions forms part of a broader toolkit of options and is implemented only where considered necessary, appropriate and site-specific. "The council remains committed to safeguarding public open spaces for the benefit of all users and will continue to review and monitor measures at individual locations." 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