THE fight is on to get rid of an illegal camp in Wanstead Park.

Park cleaning volunteers Eileen Elton and Nina Parish have been imploring authorities to clear a homeless camp between the City of London Cemetery and Alders Brook near Ilford Golf Course for over a year.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Photo: Google

Mrs Elton, of Empress Avenue, and Mrs Parish, of Wanstead Park Avenue, noticed it when they started collecting rubbish in the park in March 2015.

Complete with sofas, office chairs, microwaves, and a children’s rocking horse, the camp is often frequented by “drunks”, “drug users”, and “prostitutes”.

But after contacting Redbridge Council, Newham Council and the City of London Corporation (CoLC) on numerous occasions, the authorities refuse to take responsibility for it.

Mrs Elton said: “We started litter picking in March 2015 after my friend’s dog Elsa cut her leg on a chopped up can.

“The camp has been there ever since then, but people on the allotments nearby say it’s been there for the last five years.”

The two retired women litter pick twice a week for around three hours at a time, leaving piles of rubbish for Newham Council to collect at the Rabbits Road gate and Romford Road underpass.

But without the help of land managers they feel unable to take on the illegal camp themselves.

Mrs Parish said: “We just want it cleared and back to the way it used to be.

“We are blessed to have this park, but it’s a crying shame what parts of it look like now.

“We find wet wipes, condoms, and the usual vodka bottles and beer cans everywhere.

“People go the toilet here too – it’s revolting.”

When the Guardian visited the camp, there were people sleeping in makeshift beds and one man trying to cut down a tree.

They refused to comment on what they were doing there.

Mrs Parish added: “This is not a dustbin, this is green land.

“You can’t just go cutting down trees, it annoys me so much.”

Mrs Elton, who has lived in Aldersbrook for over 30 years and grew up in Manor Park, believes the people in the camp are discouraging park users from visiting.

She said: “When I was younger we used to spend all of our days here, without any trouble at all.

“But a lot of people are scared to walk their dogs or come jogging here now.

“And we can’t really ask them to leave because a lot of them don’t speak English.

“We’re just two people who care about the environment, this isn’t our job. Surely whoever owns the land should be doing something about it.”

CoLC claims the camp is not its responsibility.

A spokesman said: “The area where the homeless camp is located is not owned by us. However, we take homelessness on our land very seriously and we work with local authorities and charities to ensure they are supported to find accommodation.

“We will be working closely with the neighbouring authorities in the Aldersbrook area to help facilitate enforcement action in the area.”

But Redbridge and Newham Councils could not make up their mind.

In a joint statement, a spokesman for both authorities said: “This land lies right on the boundary between our two boroughs, and our officers from Newham and Redbridge are working together to establish the best way to have this camp removed.

“As soon as we can establish ownership of the land, we can work together to tackle a situation which is clearly causing residents distress.”