“WHY do they somehow seem to be above the law?”

That is the question being asked by a leading Bournemouth councillor after travellers moved onto a prime seafront car park.

At one stage there were four motorhomes on the Bath Road South car park near Bournemouth’s Pier Approach after they moved in at around 3am on Monday morning.

Small group of travellers arrive in Sandbanks 

Bournemouth council was forced to take legal action to try and evict them.

But by late yesterday afternoon, the motorhomes - which did not have parking tickets nor number plates - had moved on.

One of the vans had already left the site and was then unable to regain access so instead parked up by the Bournemouth International Centre. Separate legal proceedings have been started to try and evict this encampment.

The Bath Road South car park is one of the busiest in Bournemouth and the loss of several parking spaces during the current spell of hot weather had frustrated Bournemouth councillors.

The council is also currently paying around £1,600 a week for private security guards to patrol the entrance to Kings Park and prevent any incursions there.

Central ward Cllr David Smith has called on Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns to push for changes to the law.

“Once again the traveller community are taking advantage of our open spaces and abusing the environment which we hold dear and spend a fortune trying to keep respectable,” he said.

“Surely the so-called ‘rights’ they have in camping on our areas need reining in.

“All other sections of our community live by the rules and laws that are made for the greater good of our society.

"Why is it that the traveller community somehow seem above the law? They get away with causing mayhem and disruption wherever they go and the law is such that it takes an eternity to get rid of them.

“The current situation is untenable and costly and clearly a change in the law is needed.”

Mr Burns said he shared concerns police appeared unwilling to take action on illegal behaviour by travellers, and cited examples of children driving vehicles on parkland or travellers defecating in woodland.

“What really frustrates people is that there seems to be one law for the travellers and one law for someone else,” he said. “I’ve spoken to Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill and we have agreed that we will convene a meeting with the council and the police to try and identify common ground and make sure we are doing as much as we can in this regard.”

He added he would be interested to hear from Cllr Smith if there were any specific powers he would like made available to the council or police.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: "Dorset Police applies the law in the same way to both unauthorised encampments and the settled community. Crime and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated.

The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act makes it an offence to drive on a road without a number plate.

Car parks and other public places are not included."

Comments have been opened on this story but please note: any reference to gypsies or any racially offensive term will cause them to be closed and you may find your account suspended. Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are legally recognised as ethnic groups, and protected by the Race Relations Act. Please keep your comments to this particular incident and do not generalise, or attempt to incite violence or hatred. Thanks for your co-operation.