A Hampshire Council is taking legal action over a group of travellers who have moved onto a piece of land in a Hampshire town.

Fareham Borough Council is taking the legal action to remove the travellers from the site just off Dore Avenue in Portchester. 

It is believed the travellers arrived on Monday at around noon and within five minutes were verbally instructed by council officers to leave the grassland.

Officers then placed written notes on all vehicles instructing them to leave and said legal action would be taken if not.  

The council say that 22 adults, six adults along with 14 vehicles and 12 caravans are in place at the site.

A statement from Fareham Borough Council said: “We are aware that travellers are illegally camped on the open space near High View, just off Dore Avenue in Portchester. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our residents.

“The law states that we cannot remove travellers from our land immediately but must follow a set procedure to obtain the necessary authority from the Courts to order them to leave the site. The process is now underway.

“Once the travellers have been moved on we will review our access procedures to see if security can be improved without impacting the accessibility of the open space for our residents.”

Hampshire Constabulary have confirmed that they are working with the council to assess the situation.

Councillor Shaun Cunningham said: “I am pleased that Fareham Borough Council have followed the correct procedures to evict the travellers and dealing with it in an appropriate situation.

“I would request local residents to be mindful on employing contractors to undertake any tree / hedge work or have any garden clearance undertaken. Look out for a contractor with a proper address and not merely a mobile phone number.”