Dilemma, would you report this, unauthorised camping

[alltoomuchrightnow]

I live in a fairly rural spot (although near towns), by home is a small private wood , however it has a public footpath through it, which us that live here use, also local dog walkers, you are meant to stick to the tiny overgrown path through it only , which we all do.
But three tents have appeared in the undergrowth all joined up together. I can't see this as being 'wild camping' as not a beauty stop, a small scruffy private wood with the constant hum of the bypass. No water source anywhere. Normally I'd be the sort of person to see if someone is in trouble , if they need anything, but I 'm uneasy re this. A huge amount of rubbish has appeared near these tents, and there's been campfires, and there's lots of wildife here eg baby deer in the undergrowth, badgers, nesting birds.
Last night I was going to just walk past the tents but the wood got quite dark and I felt uneasy (no one could hear me if anything happened). Suddenly a man came out of a bush in front of me. Maybe just going to toilet but I felt uneasy because as I said, no one could hear me so I just turned heel.
Also I've heard lots of drunken shouting some nights
If anyone's in trouble /homeless I'd always want to help but can't help feeling uneasy as why come here to a private wood. Also our local pub is putting up all the local town's homeless. If you didn't want to scare a lone woman wouldn't you just stay hidden rather than just appear out of of a bush in twilight...
I feel I can't walk anymore as this is the only route I can take from home. I don't want to report personally but others are saying to...would you?

and yes they did hear me coming I'm sure, as I was talking to my cat who came with me , before I saw the tents and the man..so you don't just spook a woman in the dark like that by popping out of a bush, not if you are mindful of woman's fears?
The cat's hackles were up, we both turned heel

Report it.

I’d report it.

Yup. Nobody's supposed to be staying away from home overnight yet, and you've explained that homeless people have somewhere to go locally. Give your local police a call on the non-emergency number, I reckon.

I wouldn't
Wild camping is the only holiday people can have. Unless theres a rule in that place. They could tidy everything up before they leave so that argument is redundant.

if the OP comes back and reports that they have left no trace - I will eat my hat. Or give a tenner to charity.

wild camping = carefully burying excrement too. Yeah, right...

They're not going to be wild camping right now. I'd report it.

Definitely report

Who are you reporting to and what do you want or expect them to do?

@Nellydean21

I wouldn't Wild camping is the only holiday people can have. Unless theres a rule in that place. They could tidy everything up before they leave so that argument is redundant.

The OP says it’s a private wood so unless they are camping on the actual footpath (which is also illegal) they are trespassing.

Wild camping is also not legal.

Yes report them Op.

User I’m taking a wild guess here and thinking OP was thinking of reporting it to the Police 🤔

Could it be the owner of the woods and his family?

If not then do you have the owner's contact details so you can let him know? He might know about it or, if not, may want to do something about it

@SunbathingDragon wild camping is legal in Scotland

I, also, will eat my hat if they clear up after themselves. If they were going to clear up, they'd be doing it as they went along.

Do you think it's a homeless person rather than a wild camper? It is possible that it's someone who cannot be inside due to the nature of their feelings. While it is very generous of the pub to host the local homeless that won't work for everyone.

I'd report them to the council on the website & if there's ANY trouble tonight to the police.

If you really felt threatened by them, then I'd report them to the police now.

I wouldn’t hesitate to report.

[quote HotStottie]@SunbathingDragon wild camping is legal in Scotland[/quote]
In a private wood, surely only if you are the owner?

no not to police, to estate management, wood is privately owned by the estate I live on
They're not clearing up, there's rubbish everywhere especially plastic bottles and plastic cups.
It can't be that someone wants to wild camp. This is no beauty spot. A small scruffy tangly wood , no water, bypass as I said, it's not peaceful. It's got to be a necessity rather than a 'holiday' thing?

It's in England

No it's not owner of the woods . If you saw the set up, this is no holiday. It's three tents crammed into tangled undergrowth. The wood is very wild , there's no clearings, just a path going through where you get scratched to bits. It's not a pretty wood and all the rubbish off the bypass blows up here. It's noisy and dirty

I think homeless that's why hesitate to report but feel nervous and hate all the rubbish. Someone was also camping at the edge of the woods a few years ago in the crop field. It's not a place you'd camp by choice as surrounded by bypass, it's a constant roar even in lockdown. There's no water source and you get scratched to bits even on the wood's footpath. So I see desperation but I feel uneasy with men in bushes and all the plastic rubbish , i was going to go remove some myself but don't want to go in there alone now. Also a few weeks ago dog walkers told me to keep out the wood as strange men just hanging about. It's not a place to hang about, as I said, it's wild with no clearings , just brambles and undergrowth

Why would you not report it to the estate management? If someone was illegally camping on my land, I would want to know. The police might say it's a civil not criminal matter unless they're behaving in a threatening manner.

Why? Live and let live. Get on with your own business