A cricket club has been forced to cancel all its fixtures after travellers ‘broke in’ and parked their vans on the pitch, leaving tyre marks across the field. Lee Garlick captured images and drone footage of the unauthorised encampment at Plymstock Cricket Club. The Devon-based club announced that it had to suspend all activities “for the foreseeable future”, affecting not only cricket but also tennis and football teams.
In a social media post, the club revealed that a “group of travellers” had broken into their pitch on 28 July and were hurling stones at people. They warned: “Unfortunately our pitch has been broken onto and we now have a group of travellers setting up camp. Do no approach the ground as they have been throwing rocks at people. Everyone stay clear and stay safe.” Lee, who visited the club on the evening of 30 July to gather footage, said: “I just went down to get footage, as I have done with other travelling sites before. See what the state of the ground is like, how many are there, that sort of stuff. I parked up in the car park and launched my drone.
“Within a few minutes, some kids came over and asked what I was doing, so I told them. They went off and got some older kids (teenagers), I say about 14 to 16-years-old. They asked the same questions and why I was flying over and filming them, as its against the law. I again, explained and informed them of the law and I was entitled to do what I was doing. They didn’t like this and told me to f*** off and stay away before something happens.
“There were some cars going in and out of the encampment that were shouting out the window as they were exiting the car park, telling me to f*** off and to go play with your toy somewhere else. I don’t intimidate easily, so I stayed, finished what I was doing and then left.” The club informed the BBC the development is “absolutely heart-breaking” as they have recently “put a lot of effort into improving [their] pitch and facilities” and this represents “a massive step backwards”.
They continued: “We have been in touch with the council and MP regarding this and hope that they can be moved on soon as this is a very active sports facility used by many in the community.” Devon and Cornwall Police issued a statement saying: “We are aware of an unauthorised encampment at Dean Cross, Plymstock and are liaising with the council in relation to this. Officers have attended the site and engaged with the group.”
