A GROUP of travellers have returned to a Dudley town centre car park, only weeks after a previous incursion at the site.

Five caravans are understood to have arrived at the Flood Street car park yesterday afternoon (September 5), having been moved on from The Link Academy in Netherton via Cot Lane in Kingswinford.

The arrival, which is the second on the site since August, has been met with frustration by councillor Shaukat Ali, ward councillor for St Thomas's, who said the car park is being used as a "dumping ground".

He said: "The situation has come to a point where Dudley Council needs to get it together.

"They have no firm plan when the transit site is going to be in place.

"In the meantime local people are being inconvenienced. We have had continuous incursions. Local people there are fed up with it.

"They have gone exactly in the place where they were moved from last time. It appears to be that Flood Street is the dumping ground."

The Link Academy in Netherton was forced to close to students yesterday (September 5) after travellers failed to leave the site, having been ordered to leave that morning.

A high court order was issued later that day and the travellers were moved to Cot Lane in Kingswinford and then on to the Flood Street car park.

Councillor Elaine Taylor, ward councillor for Netherton and former chair of governors at the school, accused the Conservative-led Council of 'dithering' in sorting a transit site.

Speaking to the News at the time of the last unauthorised encampment in August, council leader councillor Patrick Harley said he was confident a transit site would be secured by next May.

Cllr Harley denied Flood Street was being used a “dumping ground” and he said he did not want to see illegal incursions “anywhere in the borough”.