AN influx of travellers, claiming to have moved from Yorkshire to the North-East, has sparked protests from residents.

A group of about 20 caravans, cars and vans, has appeared on a road just off Mercantile Way, on the Rainton Bridge Industrial Estate in Sunderland.

People living on the nearby Dairy Lane Estate, who walk their dogs on parkland between the estate and the business park, say the vehicles belonging to the travellers have wrecked the area.

One of the travellers said they had come to Rainton Bridge from Yorkshire and were there because they had nowhere else to go.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "Everybody is very upset about the way they have churned up the ground around here. God knows how much it will cost to put the damage right."

Owners of businesses that back on to the lane have said the travellers can stay as long as they do not damage any property.

Sergeant Tom Connor, of Houghton Police, said it was up to the landowner to serve any notices to force the travellers off the land, and he had not yet received any such order.