Residents have expressed their anger after images showed the ‘shocking’ amount of fly-tipped waste left by a group of travellers in a North Cheam site.

Pallettes, mattresses, and furniture are among the mess the group dumped after it allegedly got into the London Road premises by ‘cutting the locks’.

Authorities including both the police and Sutton Council were informed about the situation after reports emerged of their arrival on April 15.

In a Facebook post published on May 1, Nonsuch ward candidate Richard Johnson said: “Other than the room taken up by caravans, the travellers pretty much managed to cover every other inch of the site in tons of miscellaneous waste of all kinds.

“Though it will cost a fortune to remove it, the site is privately owned, rather than publicly owned.

“Therefore it will not fall to Sutton Council [i.e., local residents and businesses] to pay for the cost of removal and proper disposal.”

A hearing notice at Kingston County Court has been launched by Aldi, believed to be the site’s owners, after it reportedly purchased the site a week prior to the travellers’ arrival due for May 10.

However, there is no name for the defendants who would attend and therefore identify the people responsible.

‘That’s unreal,’ said one person, while another called it ‘disgraceful’.

Someone else added: “I think it’s disgusting the law makes it complicated and costly to evict them.

“If they’d been evicted the following day then there would be a fifth of the mess there is now.

“They clearly broke in [and], even if they didn’t, it’s not their land so why be allowed to stay!”

Aldi has declined to provide Sutton Guardian with an updated response to the situation to see what further action will be taken.

In a previous statement an Aldi spokesman said the travellers claimed squatters’ rights despite breaking into the premises, which led to High Court proceedings being submitted to remove them ‘as soon as possible’.