A COUNCILLOR has called for police to take action over a group of travellers who, he says, have caused damage to the site of a former coke works.

Sedgefield District Councillor Kestor Noble says that many locals in his ward of Fishburn, County Durham, saw gipsies use a chainsaw to remove a gatepost to get a caravan onto the grassed area, which used to be Fishburn Coke Works.

He says the travellers, who arrived yesterday, also knocked down a gate that was installed by the parish council.

Councillor Noble said the police should now use their powers to prosecute and evict the gipsies, using the Criminal Justice Act and Public Order Act.

He said: "I've seen four caravans and several vehicles on the site and there are reports of a fifth caravan on the site.

"Lots of residents in the area have said they saw the travellers with a chainsaw, cutting down the post.

"The village of Fishburn is fairly tolerant but they won't put up with criminal damage, which is what this is.

"The police will have received complaints about this and they should act upon them, but I know that in general they will tend to pass it on to the council."

Inspector Peter Foster, of Durham Police, said: "We've got an officer down there conducting investigations and assessing the scene. If he feels it appropriate, he will talk with the people on the land.

"But primacy falls to the council with a view to removing these people from the land legally because it is their property."

Mr Noble said that while the area was fine for people to walk dogs on, it was unsuitable for the travellers to stay on.

"It was capped with clay when it stopped being a coke works, but there is still Blue Billy (iron oxide) contamination, so people shouldn't be grazing horses on it," he said.

"There is no running water on the site and no sanitary facilities, so it's not suitable for people to live on."

One member of the travelling community, who was not staying at the site but visiting family, said: "We've always had prejudice like this.

"The council were quite happy for us to stay here last year and even put toilets up for us but now they seem to have a problem with it."

Fishburn Coke Works, which is to the south of the village, was closed about 20 years ago and shortly after it was developed for use by the public.