Colin Taylor returned home from holiday in September 2024 to find a caravan at the rear of his home – it has never left and an annoyed Colin is stuck with empty eyesore
An irked resident has complained after a caravan suddenly turned up at the rear of his house and never left.
Colin Taylor returned to his home in Golborne, Wigan, from holiday in September 2024 to find the trailer nearby. When he approached the man inside the caravan, Colin said he was told he had split up with his wife and had recently become homeless. He told Colin his plans were to stay for just a few weeks.
Colin, a retired police officer, says the caravan has been a blight in the area ever since. The man who was first in there was rehomed, according to Colin, who said he contacted the council to let them know it was empty. When the council turned up, another person was inside.
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“We’ve had some proper dodgy-looking people turn up,” Colin told the Manchester Evening News, saying that it is often visited by strangers in the early hours.
He said: “People would come and go to the side of the caravan, [were] they using it as a drug drop or something?
“I’m frightened to go in my garage because I don’t know who’s in and out. Grandkids used to come out and kick the ball about and you can’t bring them out because you don’t know who’s about.”
Colin says he has reported the issue to Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) several times.
The caravan has been empty as of May 2026, Colin said. Despite this, the council say the payment for removal will have to be billed to the owner of the private land it sits on.
Beryl Crellin, 81, is the owner of the land. She also lives on Brook Street, where Colin also resides.
Beryl, who is affectionately known on the street as Carol, said she has no intention of paying a fee.
“How can they charge me when it’s not my caravan?” she asked. “Yes, it’s my land, but I’m not paying money for them to move it. The council should move it.”
Beryl said she has “had enough” of the situation and takes “no notice”.
She said: “I’m 81 and I don’t want to be involved in this. They shouldn’t have put that caravan there without asking. That’s the annoying part about it.”
Colin concluded: “The trouble is, you’re in the pub on a Friday night and all your mates are saying to take it and push it down the street or something.
“But because I’ve brought it up and complained about it, if it gets found somewhere, I’m getting done for flytipping.
“There’s nothing I can do, it’s so annoying.”
The Mirror has approached Wigan Council and GMP for comment.
