A BAND of travellers have set up a camp on a village site. People who live in Gin Pit - once a mining community between Tyldesley and Astley - were unhappy when 70 caravans moved onto the former William Hare engineering works site alongside Meanley Road this week.

The privately-owned derelict site which has been hit by vandals and arsonists has been the subject of a controversial planning application for homes.

Buildings on site were once the Astley and Tyldesley Collieries workshops which conservationists sought to preserve as part of the area's industrial heritage.

Vandals attacked the building in June setting the fourth floor and roof alight.