THREE secondary schools have been given safety assurances after travellers pitched up close to their premises.

A number of caravans, 4x4s, lorries, vans, tents and dogs arrived on the land off Irvine Road, Colchester, late on Wednesday evening.

It is adjacent to Philip Morant School, St Benedict's School and the Colchester County High School for Girls.

Roger Buston, Conservative councillor for Prettygate ward, said yesterday: "I have this morning visited the heads of all three schools to reassure them that their councillors will try to assist them however we can, to safeguard and secure the positions both of their schools and in particular their pupils who use this field to get to and from their premises.

"All of the schools' representatives expressed their concern to me apropos the safety of the children under their care as a result of this development."

He added: "It has been suggested to me that in seeking to respond to residents' calls for these travelling folk to be moved on and to pay for the damage as they cause, I am perpetrating oppression upon a deprived minority group.

"That is not so - I simply call for all to be treated equally before the law, which is currently not happening. If one breaks the laws of our society, democratically made, my view is that no one and no group should be exempt the legal consequences of their actions.

"Currently the police seem to be opting not to choose to enforce the law, thus these groups are not discouraged from continuing in their ways.

"I find it difficult to reconcile the concept of the deprived downtrodden and oppressed minority group as has been portrayed by others, being able to afford the giant new caravans and brand new lorries and vans clearly visible - or am I missing something?

"I would like to belong to such a group, but in that I pay my council and other taxes, and do my best not to infringe the laws of our society, as are made for our mutual security and benefit, I probably would not qualify."

The travellers are understood to have accessed the site via the approach road for Philip Morant secondary school and then cutting across grass.

Will Emrich, vice-chairman of Irvine Road Residents’ Association, said the travellers accessed the land because bollards had been removed.

He added: “I have sent an email to the council asking, why does this keep happening?”

Travellers visited the same site, owned by Colchester Council, last July and left before legal action could progress.