THE authorities are bracing themselves for a possible repeat of the traveller invasion which brought mayhem to the district last Christmas. Lancaster City Council has joined forces with the police to crack down on the illegal occupation of land.

The co-ordinated campaign is in response to last year's chaos in Heysham, where travellers occupied sites in and around the village. The travellers are thought to have sent scouts to the area to check out suitable land to settle for Christmas but the city council and police are determined that there will be no repeat of last year's scenes.

Environment Chief, Cllr Jerry Sutton, said: "We are absolutely determined to ensure that the residents of the district can enjoy their Christmas, without the nuisance posed by the illegal occupation of land. That is why we have been working closely with the police and acted at an early stage to take all the preventative measures we can. The City Council is restricting access to its land and letters have been sent out to private land owners advising them to restrict access to their land and property. The co-ordinated approach will also include continued monitoring during the festive season.

Act Supt. Geoff Beaty said: "Obviously we are aware of the problems encountered last Christmas, particularly in the Heysham area and we are hoping to try and ensure that there is no repeat this year. We have worked with the Council to identify potential sites and officers will be speaking to landowners and to people living nearby to advise them of potential problems and suggesting remedies."

He added: "To help prevent any of the upsets experienced last time, we are planning more high visibility patrols in an effort to make the people of the area feel safer and reassured."

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