Travellers have set up an illegal campsite at Plymouth Airport.
Seven caravans and two trucks moved on to what used to be the staff car park at the Roborough site on Wednesday morning.
It is believed the travellers moved in during a changeover of security guard shifts, prompting site leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings to contact the police.
Disgruntled residents, however, say the makeshift camp is yet to move.
One homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous, visited the site on Friday and said he could see a child playing among the caravans.
“I drove up to the airport and I could see the caravans parked at the far end of the road,” he told The Herald.
“There were quite a few caravans and I could see a child running around.
“They’ve only been there for a couple days but there’s already rubbish everywhere. It’s disgusting.”
The resident, from Southway, said the arrival of travellers should serve as an urgent reminder to Sutton Harbour Holdings that the land needs to be used.
He explained: “We really should have an airport but, regardless of what they plan to put there, I think something needs to be done.
“Everyone would be delighted if the land was used. Whether its an airport or homes, it could be a real asset to the city.”
The site has remained vacant since the airport closed in 2011, with far-fetched plans to convert the land into a housing development or reopen it as an airport still being discussed.
A spokesperson for Sutton Harbour Holdings, who lease the site from Plymouth City Council, confirmed the travellers arrived in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“Early in the morning of October 12th, seven caravans and two trucks were found parked illegally in the disused staff car park of the former airport site.
“We believe this took place between changeover of security guard shifts.
We have reported the matter to Devon and Cornwall Police.”
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