NEW Milton's Mayor is supporting calls from Christchurch for changes in the law to evict travellers from public land within 24 hours of them setting up camp.

Christchurch Borough Council leader Cllr Alan Griffiths agrees travellers have human rights, but asks: "What about the rights of residents who have to put up with the mess left by travellers?"

His concerns follow a summer of traveller trouble in the town where a large group managed to stay one jump ahead of the council's efforts to evict them.

They eventually packed up and left in early September leaving a massive clean-up operation behind them. Now New Milton Mayor Cllr Goff Beck has said: "New Milton supports Alan Griffiths in all his efforts."

This year the town council had to go to court to evict a group of travellers from Moore Close at Old Milton and then again to evict tarot card reading Romany Tony Grent from Barton Common.

Now another travelling couple have moved onto the common.

Town clerk Graham Flexman made a claim for possession of property to Bournemouth County Court on Wednesday and then issued a notice of intention to Martin Williamson and Gemma Donaldson.

The eviction hearing was due to take place at Bournemouth yesterday.

Mr Williamson and Ms Donaldson are said to have taken a Landrover, a Citron BX car, a caravan and a tent onto a secluded wooded valley on the common and set up an encampment.

"We're paying a lot of money out on this and it's taxpayers' money at the end of the day," said Mr Beck.

The cost of issuing the summons is £130 plus the loss of a day's work for the town clerk.

The Moore Close eviction in June cost New Milton council tax payers in the region of £1,000, said Mr Beck.

First published: October 5