In September 2024, Colin Taylor had not long returned from his summer holiday when a caravan suddenly appeared at the rear of his house.
It was brought in by a man, who to this day, Colin doesn’t know the name of. The stranger planted the caravan in an open space next to Colin’s garage.
Bemused, Colin approached the man who told him he had recently become homeless and needed a place to stay for a ‘couple of weeks.’
However, the weeks turned to months and the months eventually turned to years on Brook Street, Golborne.
“He said he’d split up with his wife and he’ll only be there for a couple of weeks ‘till he got sorted, ” recalled Colin, 58.
“It’s been there since then.”
A retired prison officer, Colin says the caravan has been a blight in the area, often surrounded by waste and is regularly visited by random people in the early hours of the morning.
He told the MEN: “We’ve had some proper dodgy looking people turn up.
“People would come and go to the side of the caravan, where 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.”
(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Colin says he has reported the issue to both Greater Manchester Police and Wigan Council several times. He claims the council have not been able to remove the vehicle in previous occasions because of people living inside it.
According to Colin, two men have lived inside the caravan in the past two years. He said: “They rehomed the original fella and I contacted the council to let them know it’s empty. They turned up and another guy was in there!”
However, as of May 2026, Colin says the caravan is now empty but the council now say the payment for removal will have to be billed to the owner of the private land it sits on.
Colin Taylor
The plot belongs to an 81-year-old Beryl Crellin. She lives alone on Brook Street and said she has no intention of paying a fee.
“How can they charge me when it’s not my caravan?” She protested. “Yes, it’s my land, but I’m not paying money for them to move it. The council should move it.
“I’ve had enough of this,” added Beryl, who is affectionately known on the street as Carol. “I take no notice, 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.”
(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
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.”
Wigan Council and GMP has been approached for comment.
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