A GROUP of travellers fighting eviction from a park say they will move on once a new-born baby is baptised.

Bournemouth Borough Council is trying to evict the travellers, whose eight vehicles arrived at Shelley Park in Boscombe last week within hours of a previous group leaving.

Meanwhile, another group have left the clifftops at Durley Chine and five or six vehicles have arrived at Slades Farm.

The cost of each eviction is reckoned at £220, plus £130 in council officers' time.

The travellers at Shelley Park say they have caused no trouble and will move within a week, once a baby who was born last Friday has been signed off by a health visitor. They also want a health visitor for two children who have fallen sick.

Traveller Christine Ward said the group were Catholics who wanted to remain together.

"Our religion is if a woman has a baby, the family stick together and don't leave her. It's against our religion to leave until the baby has been Christened," she said.

Another woman on the site said: "We just want to have toilets put in and to be left another few days until the baby has been discharged."

A man at the site said: "If there's any group of travelling people in town and they cause any trouble, then all travellers get the blame for a long time afterwards."

A council spokeswoman said bailiffs had visited but had been unable to enforce an eviction order. The travellers had requested a health visitor for the sick children and the council was obliged to arrange one.

Portable toilets were being installed and the travellers would be charged for them.

"There is one caravan with a lady that had a baby born on Friday so we're providing tolerance for her caravan and one other and the health visitor will need to be in touch with her for the next 10 days," the spokeswoman added.

Boscombe East councillor Andrew Garratt criticised travellers who had been moving between sites when court orders were served.

"Obviously where the health of children and babies is at stake, that's paramount, and I have no problem with that at all.

"We're doing exactly the right thing but the remainder of the travellers need to understand that they cannot keep 'cat and mouse-ing' with us, that playing the system is not tolerable," he said.