A family of travellers who took over a piece of land outside a hospital where one of them is being treated have joked they could remain there for five years.
The group, from the Republic of Ireland, are living in vans in a fenced off area just outside the main entrance of Manchester Royal Infirmary .
They arrived last month and hospital bosses have allowed them to remain while a relative is recovering from a heart operation inside the hospital.
Living in the back of vans, their presence has angered some staff who say they are being allowed to park for free while visitors must pay £15 for a day.
Although not blocking ambulances or cars which are allowed to drop off or pick up outside the entrance, the family’s Ireland registered vans have been allowed to park inside a fenced off area where construction is expected to start for disabled parking bays.
One nurse, who declined to be named, told the M.E.N.: “They are pretty intimidating for staff or people visiting the hospital. There have been as many as 15 vans there although there are fewer now. Vulnerable people are coming and going all the time and it makes them feel unsafe.
“They can be loud and boisterous. I’ve seen it when there are 30 or 40 of them, hanging around and having a party with loud music coming from the vans and people drinking. They’re basically living outside the hospital. It’s just not fair. Everybody else has to pay for parking but they don’t.”
When the M.E.N. approached one of the travellers, as she was sitting in one of three vans we saw parked inside the fencing, she denied they had been causing a nuisance or that there had been partying.
“We don’t even drink alcohol,” she said.
Asked how long they planned to remain there, she smiled and said: “We’ll be here for another five years.”
A member of staff who works at a shop inside the hospital building told the M.E.N: “It’s all down to the parking. A lot of the staff here just don’t like the fact they’re not paying.”
The M.E.N. has asked Central Manchester University Hospitals Trust for a comment.
The trust has previously said it is aware of the situation and was ‘continuing to manage their presence on site’.
