Crays Hill travellers were today pleading with Prime Minister Tony Blair to step in and halt the eviction of their site.

Representatives from the Dale Farm camp were travelling to No 10 Downing Street to hand a letter to Mr Blair, written by resident Kathleen McCarthy.

It asks the PM to put a block on all evictions until changes are made to force councils to provide legal sites.

The action comes after Conservative-controlled Basildon Council voted to clear unauthorised parts of the site, believed to be Europe's largest, on Tuesday night. The move follows private talks between travellers from the site, an unnamed MP and representatives from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at Westminster.

Mrs McCarthy is being joined by members of the Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition and National Gypsy and Traveller Affairs Group. Solicitor Keith Lomax was also today finalising paperwork to apply for a judicial review of the council's decision. If a hearing before a High Court judge is successfully secured it could suspend the action for several months.

Mrs McCarthy said: "We are looking forward to it being brought to the High Court. The decision was based on prejudice against us and that will be one of our main arguments.

"We are still in fear of what will happen to our children because if the eviction goes ahead there simply is nowhere else to go."

Crays Hill residents have welcomed the eviction decision. Ramsden Crays Parish Council chairman David McPherson-Davis said: "After four years of problems, we are hopeful we can get back the quality of life we had before the Irish travellers arrived.

"The talk of legal action is another attempt by them to gain extra time to remain and it is now more than one month after May 13, when they were supposed to leave."

l Geoff Williams, leader of the Lib Dem group on Basildon Council has vowed to become a human rights monitor at the Dale Farm traveller site eviction. He was the only councillor to vote against the action.