'Travellers should get ASBOs'

ANTISOCIAL behaviour orders could be slapped on a group of travellers who 'trashed' a popular area of Clevedon. Clevedon Town Council, with the support of local police, has asked for the travellers to be tracked down using the registration numbers of their vehicles and taken to court so they can be handed ASBOs.Residents fear the travellers could return again later this year or next summer and they worry they will again suffer days of constant noise, abuse and the virtual destruction of Marshalls Field.Fears are also growing that an area of Nailsea is about to receive the same treatment.District councillor Andy Cole says several people living in the Sedgemoor Close and Harptree Close area have noticed what they suspect to be traveller groups 'eyeing up parkland' next to Morgans Hill. Residents have taken matters into their own hands by chaining up the gate at the entrance to the parkland.Cllr Cole has asked North Somerset Council officers to secure the gate at the entrance to the field, which is normally locked but has recently been left open.He said in a letter to the authority: "Clearly this could be another traveller invasion about to happen. "One resident is so concerned he is securing the gate with locks and chains over the weekend."Clevedon Town Council says if the previous group of travellers were handed ASBOs it would discourage groups from returning to areas and illegally parking on land.Councillors listed in a letter to North Somerset Council what action it wanted the authority to take to stop a repeat of the Marshalls Field incident. Part of the letter says: "Work with the police to track those responsible for the trespassing on Marshalls Field by checking vehicle registration with the DVLA and serving them with ASBOs, preventing them returning to any land within North Somerset.