ANGRY residents have hit out at travellers who have moved onto a site near their homes.

People living near Whinney Hill Road, Clayton-le-Moors, have complained the travellers are noisy and say they do not want them there.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "It's not good having them near here. They have dogs, and you worry that they will chase you if you go past.

"At night, it is very noisy with them swearing, and it is also very dirty, with them dumping their rubbish nearby. The sooner they move, the better."

Another resident added: "I don't like them here because they don't make the area look very nice. I would like them to move and I hope something will be done about it."

Geoffrey Hill, chairman of the Enfield Residents' Association, said the travellers had returned to the land several times over the past few years, and he had contacted the council and police about them.

He added: "I had to put up with them using my bushes as a toilet last time."

Steve Todd, head of the council's environmental services, said: "We are aware of the situation, and so are the police, and we have offered whatever resources are necessary to help remove the travellers.

"There have been travellers on that area of land in the past, and the company which owns it has experience of reclaiming it.

"We understand the travellers came down for a wedding, which took place over the weekend, and they said they would be moving on afterwards."

Sergeant Mark Porter, of Accrington Police, said: "We are aware of the site, and in situations like this we always work closely with the local authority.

"There have been a number of travellers in the past who have settled in Accrington, and there are rarely problems when they move on."

A spokesman for Marshalls Clay Products, which owns the land on which the camp stands, said: "We are aware of the illegal presence of travellers who have trespassed at our Accrington site.

"The situation is being dealt with by SITA, the waste services company, which is currently operating the site. It is looking to bring the illegal trespass to an end quickly."