PAY US TO GO AWAY!

Bosses and workers on the White Lund Estate were powerless to stop the group dropping litter and depositing human waste in car parks and public areas.

One company whose land was occupied has had to spend thousands to put up fencing to stop it happening again.

And businesses on the estate are critical of the authorities for doing nothing to help.

A number of local businessmen and workers contacted The Citizen this week to express their concern and disgust at the actions of the travellers.

As well as reports of piles of rubbish and using the car parks as toilets, there were claims that young children were sent into premises demanding cash and diesel in return for moving on.

Tony Edmondson, a director at Edmondson's, had the misfortune of moving the travellers from one piece of land only to have them pitch up on another site almost immediately.

"We called the police who told us to call the council and when we called the town hall they sent us back to the police," he explained. "Basically, there was absolutely no assistance from the authorities whatsoever. I'm baffled why the travellers couldn't be prosecuted for trespass or for purposefully blocking access or right of way."

He added: "They had no toilets or no rubbish bins so the state of the site when they left speaks for itself. They also asked for cash. We've had to put up fencing around our site to keep them off."

Morecambe MP Geraldine Smith said she was keen to hear from constituents or businesses that had fallen victim.

"This situation is totally unacceptable and I'd be happy to speak to anyone who has been affected to see what we can do to resolve this," she said.

A spokesman for the police, Mr Peter Lovett-Horn, said that if they had parked up and were unwilling to leave it was a civil matter but if they had made threats then the police would be able to act.

The Citizen were unable to interview any of the travellers as they had moved on.