A group of travellers today returned to a site they had previously camped on in Jaywick - but were stopped in their tracks.

A number of caravans and vehicles arrived at the market and car boot site in Brooklands, which is owned by Tendring District Council (TDC).

They were stopped from gaining access to the land by a local resident but then moved onto the nearby Jaywick Beach Car Park in Tamarisk Way where they settled and were joined by others.

Paul Honeywood, TDC’s cabinet member for housing, said the travellers were still in the district because residents were employing them to do work at their homes.

The car park is also run by TDC and the council has asked the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit (ECTU) to issue the travellers with a notice asking them to leave.

That gives the group 24 hours to move on and if they do not comply, TDC will follow-up with a court summons which will again be served by the ECTU with the likelihood of a court date early next week.

Mr Honeywood said the council would use all its available powers to take action.

“We have a laid down process that we must follow by law and we will be doing all that we can to move the travellers on as quickly as possible,” he added.

“There are no powers at our disposal that we are not using - and we are doing everything we can to tackle this on-going issue.

“I can only repeat that the reason the travellers are still here is that residents are employing them to do work at their homes. Without the employment the travellers would move out of the district and find it elsewhere.”

Some of the group in Jaywick today are those who previously occupied the market and car boot site last month and other sites in the district before that.

As the travellers are in a TDC pay and display car park without purchasing a ticket they will be issued with a penalty notice for £50 tomorrow.

The council has also arranged for security to be on the site who will let the travellers off – but no one else on.