TOWN Hall bosses claim travellers are staying longer in Tendring this year because they are being employed by residents to do work.

Tendring Council has spent around £20,000 so far this year on dealing with the incursions and cleaning up sites.

The latest move has seen four caravans pitch up on the grass verge near to Highfield Holiday Park in London Road today.

It is a site where there have already been previous encampments this year.

The council has asked the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit to issue the travellers with a Direction to Leave notice.

If they do not leave within 24 hours a court summons will be served on Monday with a court date set for November 18.

Paul Honeywood, cabinet member for housing, said that it has been "a continuous merry-go-round" of moving Travellers from one site to another since early summer.

“Last week we managed to move on around 20 caravans and vehicles from Martello Coach and Car Park in Clacton after around a week only for them to go up the road to Martin’s Farm in St Osyth,” he said.

“We believe that from there some went to Point Clear and now four have taken up position in London Road – and five more are on 2 areas of private land near the Carphone Warehouse and Currys on Brook Retail Park.

“The council will tackle those on public land but it is up to landowners to take action on their sites.”

Mr Honeywood said the council has called on Clacton MP Douglas Carswell to press for changes in the law regarding travellers - and that he has backed the plan.

“We just seem to be going around chasing our tail week after week spending more and more public money in an effort to move them on,” he added.

“However, we can only act within the current legislation – which is what we have done all along – and it just moves the problem to another site.

“I understand that the reason that the travellers have been staying in Tendring so long this year is that they are being employed by householders to do work.

“It would certainly help everyone’s cause if that was not the case and then they may leave the district.”