UPDATE: The travellers are no longer at this site.

TRAVELLERS have invaded a car park at a Hampshire supermarket used by thousands of shoppers every day.

Six caravans and associated vehicles are parked along two sides of the main car park at the Sainsbury’s store at Lordshill District Centre in Southampton.

Last night Don Thomas, Independent councillor for Coxford ward, expressed concern for the safety of the travellers’ children and also called on city councillors to take action to help the travelling community.

He said: “A supermarket car park is a completely inappropriate place for travellers to set-up home. It’s a real worry that youngsters are playing in and around parked vehicles.”

It comes just days after a group of travellers left a sports field at Riverside Park in Bitterne.

Cllr Thomas warned that members of the travelling community would continue to occupy sites across the city unless they were provided with proper facilities.

He said: “Until Southampton has a clean, tidy travellers’ encampment with running water and toilet facilities travellers will keep returning and setting-up wherever they like.

“The ones at Sainsbury’s have spread themselves out and put up washing lines. They look like they’re in for the long haul.”

Yesterday some of the occupants stood outside in the sunshine as a non-stop stream of cars went in and out of the car park.

A Sainsbury’s customer said: “It’s a very busy area with vehicles coming and going all the time - certainly not the best place to set up camp.”

A fellow shopper added: “It’s not a particularly big car park and the caravans are taking up quite a few spaces but apart from that they don’t seem to be causing any problems.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “The store is working closely with the authorities to resolve the issue.”

The travellers arrived several days ago but it is not known if they are the same group that left Riverside Park last week after invading a sports field behind Bitterne Park Primary School.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the school cancelled its sports day after the caravans appeared.

A Southampton City Council spokesman said: “Sainsbury’s car park is privately-owned and the eviction of travellers would need to be undertaken by the land owners. If there are future instances of travellers moving on to public land where the city council is the freeholder we will undertake punitive action to move them on.”

The spokesman said the authority had no plans to provide a travellers’ encampment.