TRAVELLERS have returned to a site they had previously camped on in Jaywick.

Caravans arrived at the market and car boot site in Brooklands, which is owned by Tendring Council, on Tuesday morning.

Tendring Council said 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.

The council has asked the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit (ECTU) to issue the travellers with a Direction to Leave for the site, which is owned by the authority.

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

Paul Honeywood, cabinet member for housing, said the council will 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 said.

“There are no powers are 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 have previously occupied the market and car boot site last month.

The council said the travellers are in a Tendring Council pay and display car park without purchasing a ticket, so will be issued with a fine for £50 on Tuesday.

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

The group has declined to comment to the Gazette.