Businesses have been left counting the cost after travellers camped on a Colchester industrial estate.

Travellers, parked outside Falcon Plumbing and Heating Supplies on the Cowdray Centre, moved off just hours before a court order was served on Friday afternoon, only to return and spend the weekend outside nearby Go Bananas.

Go Bananas owner Chris Lenartowicz said: "These people seem to be above the law and have no respect for people or property.

"We have had dogs and children running around unchecked and have had to call the police four times in a two-day period."

He added travellers have camped on the business forecourt several times in the five years Go Bananas has been running. Usually they head into town in the winter when fields and areas of grassland are too wet and muddy to set up camp on.

"I am sure we have lost hundreds of pounds in business, the system for moving them on seems to be very inefficient," he said. "I am sure we will not have seen the last of them and they will be moving around the centre for the next few weeks - after all what is there to stop them?"

Falcon manager Simon Brown said his firm had to take out an eviction order to move the travellers off which cost them £600.

"Sorting out the order took a week. During that time our business has been disrupted. Now they are gone and we are left with the unpleasant task of clearing up after them," he added.

Essex County Council does employ a travellers liaison officer but only takes action in cases where travellers are camped on council-owned land.

When they are on private land, it is up to the landowner to move them on, usually through a court eviction order.

There is a permanent travellers' site at Haven Road Caravan Park, but this is in a poor state and unpopular with travellers.

Travellers are now camped in a different area of the Cowdray Centre, on land directly behind Masons Paper.

Unwanted - the travellers' caravans at the Cowdray Centre

By Sue Robson

Reporter's e-mail: sue_robson@thisisessex.co.uk

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