"Shoppers terrorised by travellers who have invaded Arena Shopping Park"

Scores of caravans have parked up at the side of the store



An illegal encampment of travellers has invaded a car park close to the Tesco store at the Arena shopping complex by the Ricoh Arena .

Scores of caravans have set-up home in the ‘click and collect’ area of the car park, which is owned by Park Watch, not Tesco.

The encampment is understood to have arrived yesterday (Wednesday, November 8) and, at the time of publication, there were around eight caravans on the car park as well as other vehicles.

Security officers were spotted swarming around the car park area earlier today (Thursday, November 9).

Reports to the Telegraph suggested that some of the encampment had been ‘running amok’ in the store and one claimed that a customer was bitten by a dog from the encampment. Police confirmed they had received a report of a dog biting a customer's clothes at around 11pm last night.

But a spokesperson for Tesco said: “We have not been made aware of any incidents in the store”.

The Telegraph contacted Park Watch, which owns and runs the car park, but no one was available for comment. It is not the first time that travellers have set-up camp near to the Ricoh Arena . In December 2014, an encampment of travellers arrived on car park ‘C’ opposite the area.

The good lady was over there yesterday and says she saw nothing.

So was I also I came out that end of the shop about 17. 15 pm to go home as it was to dark to go back the canal way and did nt see any in the car park normally they park and stay the other end by the side of the sports shop at the end the way I came in around 13.40 pm and they were nt there either.