Travellers invade football club and park more than 20 vehicles on the pitch after council leaves the gates unlocked

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:33, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 11:36, 22 July 2026 Travellers have invaded a football club's pitches and nearby park with more than 20 vehicles after the local council left the gate unlocked. Caravans rolled into Albion Rovers FC's Kimberley Park grounds in Newport in Gwent, Wales, last Wednesday, so the club - celebrating its 90th anniversary this season - is now stuck in limbo. After an initial party of caravans arrived, more vehicles and people arrived over the weekend and set up shop, not looking like they'll move away. The club has now been forced to find alternative venues for matches and training - hiring a 3G pitch at a school for £110 an hour. Club secretary Sarah Yemm, 44, said she was worried for the safety of the club members, saying it is 'too dangerous' to go down there as more travellers arrive. She said: 'It's been really stressful because we've had to cancel all the training, including the seniors. 'Obviously, we wouldn't want the children or the senior players down there training because more and more caravans were coming in. It was too dangerous.' Ms Yemm has had to cancel the girls' team matches too and relocate friendlies. Albion Rovers FC is furious after more than 20 caravans and vehicles descended on their football ground last Wednesday The club claim council contractors left the gates unlocked, which allowed the invasion She added: 'It's been worrying me because our first team is in the Welsh Cup, and I've been thinking, "Where are we going to play?" Most of the council pitches haven't got the goalposts up.' The club relies on revenue from the clubhouse and the pavilion coffee shop to stay afloat, but the travellers' encampment has meant they are unable to use it and it has cut off this flow of income. Meanwhile, the travellers have been littering rubbish all over the ground, they said. Ms Yemm said: 'I believe there were travellers on the site over 10 years ago, and it was quite hostile, so they were worried it would be like that again.' She blamed Newport City Council for failing to lock the gates to the ground and the ensuing trouble. 'We've gone to the council because it's their issue,' she said. 'I've been very clear that all the people at the club are volunteers - we aren't paid members of staff. 'We are strict with our coaches to make sure they lock the barriers, even though the site belongs to the council. 'It was the council that left the locks off the low and overhead barriers because there were contractors working on the pitch, but they didn't put the specialised padlocks back on. 'So that's very worrying and frustrating because we are very strict with our coaches to make sure they lock the barriers. 'The people who left them unlocked were council staff and contractors.' 'The pitch is in a terrible mess with bags of rubbish. There's human faeces in one corner. 'We don't know if we can play on the pitch. You could smell it, and there was tissues everywhere. 'We don't know whether it'll be fit for play.' Travellers often target football grounds as places to set up camp and even used an angle grinder to break on to pitches in Norfolk on July 3. CCTV footage showed a convoy of cars towing caravans arrive at Thetford Town Youth FC and, after breaking in, driving 'back and forth over the pitches used for matches'. The group eventually left after two days but they left behind a pitch strewn with dirty nappies, cans, and a car seat in the aftermath, forcing the football club to spend a day cleaning the site. Burgess Hill Cricket Club saw a similar fate when travellers stopped on their ground in East Sussex in June. The club is having to cancel and rearrange matches - hiring out a 3G pitch at a school at £110 an hour Ms Yemm said: 'I believe there were travellers on the site over 10 years ago, and it was quite hostile, so they were worried it would be like that again' This is not a new trend and has been going on for years, like last April when travellers descended on Ludgvan Lions Junior Football Club near Penzance, Cornwall. Back in Wales, a spokesperson for Newport City Council issued a response on Ms Yemm's claims that their contractors were responsible for leaving the gate to their grounds unlocked. They said: 'We're still investigating what happened at Kimberley Park.'