People living near a park where travellers have set up camp say it is not the first time the site has been used.

Two caravans arrived in the car park of Chandos Recreation Ground, in Camrose Avenue, on Saturday evening.

Harrow Borough Council yesterday issued the travellers with an eviction notice giving them 48 hours to leave.

David Mensah, whose home in Camrose Avenue backs onto the park, said: “What is worrying is that you just don’t know what they are capable of.

“Something needs to be done to stop the caravans from getting in.

“This is not the first time this has happened. Previously there have loads of caravans and they have made a lot of noise at night. About six years ago people's homes were broken into.

“This time there haven’t been any disturbances and it has been very quiet but when they turn up you don’t know what will happen.”

However the travellers told The Harrow Times they just want somewhere to stay.

Helen Mingn said: “We have been told to leave but we have nowhere else to go. We get thrown round from place to place and never get the chance to settle.

“People are afraid about what we’ll do but what we really want is somewhere just to settle down, like a caravan site or a house, because moving round from place to place is too stressful.”

Last year around 20 caravans descended on site of the Kodak Sports Ground, in Harrow View, and were moved on by police.