A PICTURESQUE riverside green area is being ruined by homeless campers, residents said today.

People living near St Barnabas Church, off Leeman Road, claim rough sleepers are pitching tents by the river and leaving the area looking like a rubbish tip.

Dog walker Chris Harris, from Leeman Road, said he had contacted City of York Council several times about the "riverside squatters", but to no avail.

He claimed rubbish and blankets were left strewn everywhere and there was drugs paraphernalia.

"It is frightening walking your dogs in this area."

Leeman Road councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing said she had reported the tents issue to officers on "numerous occasions".

"I'm very concerned because the people in the tents have no toilet facilities. It's not safe.

"There is also the safety of the rough sleepers themselves to consider because it is flooding season."

The Evening Press spoke to a man who had pitched a tent beside the river under the cover of willow trees.

The 35-year-old, from Lancaster, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his partner had been sleeping there since June because they had been unable to find accommodation.

"The tent is freezing, but we don't have anywhere else to live," he said.

"We are getting the blame for a lot of stuff that isn't our fault. We have never left syringes. I'm looking for work and the police have been really good with us."

A City of York Council spokeswoman, said: "We are aware of the problems in that area and the council's Street Environment team has been working closely with the police to try to resolve the issue.

"The land in that area is owned by the council and we will be seeking legal advice to see what can be done."

The Evening Press reported recently that mother Katie Rix, 28, from Aldborough Way, York, was shocked to find scores of used syringes, along with other drug paraphernalia, dirty blankets and piles of rubbish, while walking her dog by the River Ouse.

Updated: 10:37 Friday, November 18, 2005