TRAVELLERS have left a "colossal" amount of fly-tipping on a third Croydon playing field in less than a fortnight.
The group pitched up in John Ruskin Playing Field this week and left behind a large trail of building waste and refuse when they moved on.
In the last ten days the council has had to clear huge piles of rubbish left behind in Purley Way Playing Fields and then Ashburton Playing Fields, at a cost of around £30,000.
Stuart Collins, cabinet member for Clean Green Croydon, has accused the same group of travellers of causing each mess.
The Labour-led council, elected on the promise of tackling fly-tipping, has said it has been unable to act against the travellers because it did not have enough evidence.
Following this latest incident, Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, called for "clear action" to catch those responsible.
Speaking from John Ruskin Playing Field, in Selsdon, on a video posted on You Tube, Mr Barwell said: "You're witnessing yet another green space in Croydon that has been the victim of colossal fly-tipping by a group of travellers that were pitched here a few days ago.
"We've seen this all summer: several families, several groups, moving around parks and green space in the borough - moved on each time by the council but nothing being done to make the people clear up the mess that they have created or actually to charge and prosecute them for all the damage they are doing to our community.
"The new Labour council that was elected back in May rightly said that it was going to make a priority of trying to clean up Croydon. They've come up with this slogan, Don't Mess With Croydon.
"My message to Cllr Collins is what is he going to do to make sure the people that are responsible for this actually pay for the damage that they are doing to our environments? My constituents are sick and tired of site after site being treated in this way, the council spending a fortune moving these people on and then having to clean up all the mess.
"It's council tax payers that are paying for this. What we need from the council is clear action to hold the people that are causing this responsible. It's about time we saw that action."
A council spokesman said: "As it's the summer holidays the council arranged for bailiffs to remove an illegal encampment from the John Ruskin playing fields.
"This was done as soon as possible after we were made aware of the problem. We're now in the process of arranging for many tonnes of dumped rubbish to be removed and we're keen for any information which could help us prosecute the individuals responsible."
