The number of unauthorised traveller camps reported in Northamptonshire hit a two year high last summer, latest figures have revealed.
A report published by the Northamptonshire Countywide Traveller Unit (CTU) shows the police received 78 complaints about camp sites in the county in June last year, compared to just one in February and six in December.
The group’s report said the main problem area for camps was in Northampton.
It explained: “The summer months of 2012 saw a higher than average number of unauthorised encampments than for the preceding two years.
“These encampments were mainly, but not exclusively, within Northampton Borough Council’s area and the urban nature of the locations resulted in a high number of people reporting the encampments to the police.”
The total number of complaints about camps reported to the police across the county between November 2011 and December 2012 was 322.
The majority of actual camps were in Northampton, with 92 recorded over the time period.
South Northamptonshire had the second highest number with 32, while at the other end of the spectrum, Corby had just seven.
The CTU said the majority of complaints about camps were merely to tell the police they had been set up, rather than to report any criminal problems.
Their report said: “Most of these reports were not of antisocial behaviour but merely notification of the presence of the encampment.”
The police did however take legal action on four occasions because of either antisocial behaviour issues or because of the location of camps.
In these cases, the organisation said the vacation of the land “was achieved without incident and no other police officers were utilised”.
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