A travelling community has set up camp on a field in Wallasey after being moved on from Leasowe this morning.

Around 20 mobile homes had been parked on a field backing onto Holy Spirit RC Primary School in Leasowe since Tuesday. 

But it has emerged that, following a court hearing this morning, they have moved on to Wallacre Playing Fields off Mosslands Drive in Wallasey Village.

Council Officers and Merseyside Police are now seeking a second, urgent court hearing to obtain a possession order to have them moved from this site too.

Around 20 caravans and vehicles are now on Wallacre Playing Fields, having left mess and litter at the site at Leasowe Road for the council to clear up.

Conservative ward councillor for Wallasey, Ian Lewis said: "Councillors Rennie, Hayes and I have asked for urgent action by the police and the council’s lawyers to have the travellers removed from Wallacre Playing Fields.

"The police were given extra powers only last month to deal with this problem. We were advised in July that the council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team was working with Merseyside Police to ensure action is taken more swiftly than we saw at Upton Meadow and the Dips in previous years.

"Last month, Merseyside Police received further statutory guidance by the Home Office on how to enforce the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, to tackle unauthorised encampments and the harms caused by trespassers refusing to leave land and causing harm to communities and landowners.

"This means that unlike in previous years, the police and the council now have the powers to act more quickly.

"We expect these powers to be used and to be used quickly in order to protect the quality of life for the people living in the Mosslands Drive area and the wider community – days, not weeks."