A COURT has ruled that eviction orders should be served on gipsies despite a legal challenge that highlighted serious health concerns.

Darlington Borough Council applied to magistrates for the orders to force any remaining families to leave the site near McMullen Road, in the town.

Maureen Crawford, the director of public health for Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT), said two of the female travellers had serious conditions.

One of them is pregnant and the condition of the other could not be disclosed because of patient confidentiality.

She said: "The highest rate of maternal mortality is among travelling woman because they have not been able to establish ante-natal care, and it still has not been suitably established.

"Additional stress is being placed on them by the act of moving."

Chris Close, representing the gipsies, applied to have the summons thrown out, arguing that the council had not followed the correct procedures regarding making health-checks.

He said: "There is no evidence that the council has carried out its own procedures.

"Significant health concerns have been raised by the director of public health.

"The initial summons should never have been heard in the first place."

Andrea Crawford, respresenting Darlington Borough Council, said the authority was following its procedure in dealing with the gipsies, who were parked illegally on municipal land.

She said the families would be able to stay on land at Old Barn Farm, which is about a mile from the McMullen Road site.

Because it is private land, there is likely to be a daily charge.

The council's technical officer, David Robson, said: "The health visitor was notified.

"The information we got did not warrant delaying the eviction. It was not an emergency.

"We handle the eviction of travellers sensitively, but we have to think about residents' rights also."

Twenty-one eviction orders were made, but all the gipsies had moved on when council officers checked yesterday afternoon.