TODAY is D-Day for travellers parked on playing fields next to Southampton's St Mark's School, because the council is going to court to get them evicted.

The authority put up a notice ordering them off the land within 24 hours on Friday, but it appears to have had little effect.

Officials had hoped they would leave over the weekend, but the caravans were still on site on Monday morning, forcing them to resort to the courts.

If the eviction application is successful, bailiffs will move in within hours to evict the vans from the Shirley field which doubles as a sports field for pupils at the Junior School in Stafford Road.

It cannot come soon enough for residents of surrounding roads, who say they have been forced to endure late night noise and threatening behaviour.

They are frustrated with delays in removing the travellers, who have been on the site for more than three weeks.

One told the Daily Echo one of the group had threatened to set fire to his car, forcing him into an all night vigil to ensure it was safe.

Others revealed they had been plagued by noisy generators, car horns, people shouting and revving motorbikes. Youngsters have also had sports events cancelled because of the travellers on the field.

Previously, the travellers had camped on Southampton Common off Highfield Lane before they were evicted. Some simply moved across the road, forcing police to return and move them on them again. They regrouped at the Stafford Road field and, although numbers have fluctuated, have been there ever since.

A resident of nearby Malmesbury Place, who did not want to be named, said: "I feel the council could have served the notice earlier. They care about the travellers but not about us."

A city council spokesman said: "We are doing our utmost to rectify the situation and hope to have it resolved as soon as possible."