'A ST HELENS councillor is calling for tougher action to be taken against travelling gipsies who illegally set up camp on land in the area.

John Beirne, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Marshalls Cross, believes Travellers should face court action if they leave a mess in an area they have vacated and is also calling on the council to hire detectives to gain evidence of this.

He said: "Council Tax payers have footed the clean-up bill for these people for long enough. I heard recently that a farmer elsewhere in the country had sprayed horse manure close by -- maybe we should do the same and give them a taste of their own medicine!

"I also want to see these Travellers 'blocked-in' as soon as they arrive at a site to stop them carrying on their own businesses."

He added: "We have got to give them a message and stop being treated as fools. They left Parr High School playing field in an appalling state and more are now at the back of homes in Watery Lane in Sutton where rubbish is already mounting.

"It's too much to say these people have rights -- what about council tax payers' right to a clean environment. There is no excuse for the mess they keep leaving."

A spokesman for St Helens Council said: "I can confirm that Travellers did set up camp on Parr High's playing field and also on a site in Sherdley Road. They have now been moved on from both sites and we are currently taking action to remove them from another site in Sutton.