WARRINGTON Borough Council has forked out almost £26,000 to deal with traveller encampments on Silver Lane since 2010.

Since 2010, there have been 492 unlawful traveller encampments across Warrington, with 35 coming on the Risley site which has been blighted by groups.

Following a Freedom of Information request by the Warrington Guardian, the council confirmed the Silver Lane encampments have cost £25,830 in total over the past eight and a half years.

The charges incurred by the authority covered officers' time, bailiff charges, security, clean-up costs and court costs.

In 2015, a £6,000 gate was installed at Silver Lane to deter travellers from coming onto the land – but it has continued to be accessed by groups.

Silver Lane had the highest number of unlawful encampments in the borough in 2015, with six.

But Birchwood Boulevard and Europa Boulevard were the most popular sites for groups setting up camp in 2016 and 2017.

Earlier this week, a drop-down bollard costing £1,500 was installed at Marina Park in Great Sankey to prevent further encampments after around 15 caravans and associated vehicles made their way onto the site.

A location for Warrington's future transit site is still yet to be revealed.

A camp would allow the authority to direct groups to the land, with senior Town Hall figures confident that it would dramatically reduce the number of encampments across the borough.

The authority has almost £2 million set aside to fund it.

Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid is calling on the council to find the 'right location' for the transit site 'as a matter of urgency'.

He added: "Unauthorised traveller encampments are usually left in a very untidy condition, strewn with debris, rubbish, litter and worse.

"Such encampments can often cause residents to feel threatened and concerned about their home and personal security.

"The landowners are faced with the double cost of enforcement action to clear their unlawfully occupied land and then having the site cleaned up and made secure to prevent future unauthorised incursions by travellers.

"Traveller transit sites provide a legal place to camp temporarily and make it easier for authorities to close unlawful campsites.

"Warrington has a long-standing problem with unauthorised traveller encampments and so it makes sense for the council to establish a transit site.

"However, deciding where to locate such a site is potentially sensitive and the council must be comprehensive and inclusive in the decision-making process."