Warnings of travellers invading sites

The alarm was raised after dozens of travellers spent three days at King Geroge V playing field in Felpham.

They left on Tuesday. The last of the 20 or so vehicles pulled out in the early evening after most had departed about 1.30pm.

Sgt Ian Cheesman said all vulnerable premises across the district had been made aware of the situation and advised to take precautions.

"The travellers have left the Bognor area. They will not be coming back, hopefully. If they do, we will have to deal with them again," he said.

Bersted Parish Council tried to ensure its Jubilee Playing Fields off Chalcraft Lane were kept as secure as possible.

Its clerk, Fiona Dobbs, said: "We took as many steps as possible to keep vehicles off the council's property. Arun District Council were frequently in contact with us about the situation. We are aware of the dangers and constantly vigilant to them."

Cllr Simon McDougall said: "We need to ensure all our users are absolutely vigilant. There are a lot of travellers in the area.

"We don't want a situation where they get on our land because someone has forgotten to shut a gate."

Travellers broke into King George V playing field off Felpham Way. They gained access by sawing through the gate posts and caused about 150 of damage.

Arun District Council worked with the police to quickly move them before a fair arrived for its scheduled visit. Council officers also began the legal process to regain possession of the land through the courts.

The damaged gate post was replaced and secured as soon as

the travellers left. Arun's contractors, Verdant and ISS, cleaned up the site.

A small blaze involving rubbish on the playing field on Tuesday afternoon was put out by a fire crew from Bognor Regis fire station using buckets of water.

The alarm was raised at 4.17pm and the site was declared safe within 20 minutes.