A HOLIDAY park owner said he feels besieged by visitors due to poor parking and careless behaviour - and has even seen a man squatting and having a poo on his land.

Mathew Kiziuk, of Crake Valley Holiday Park near Torver on the west side of Coniston Water, said police needed to be given more powers to effectively deal with issues caused by the closure of the road on the east side of the lake.

The C5018 was shut last month after visitors to the Lake District dumped their cars on the road, making it impossible for emergency services to pass.

The 42-year-old said: “All the people who parked on that side have just moved over to the other side.We have a driveway where cars are being dumped and they are even parking on the land of scientific interest. The other day when I was with my seven-year-old we saw someone squatting and having a dump. How am I supposed to explain that to my son?

“It is dangerous coming out of our driveway as you have to edge out between cars onto a 60 miles per hour road.The last few weeks has been a nightmare.

“We open our business again soon and this just poses such a potential for an accident.”

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “The council is not aware of any issue in regard to traffic or parking on the west of Coniston Water. We have met with the police and Lake District Nation Park authorities on the issue around Coniston and will continue to monitor the situation.”

Richard Leafe, chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority said: “We are delighted to finally welcome visitors back to the Lake District as many attractions, restaurants, pubs and overnight accommodation reopen this weekend.

“We know how important the national park is to people’s health and wellbeing, particularly at the moment, and that many people have been counting down the days until they return.

“So to those people I’d like to say thank you, by respecting the guidance and not rushing back to the Lake District, you’ve helped protect our communities and look after this special place. It’s a big weekend for our local businesses as many of them reopen.”