DORSET'S top police officer and the head of Bournemouth council have been asked to provide ammunition to put an end to the "cat and mouse" antics of bands of travellers.

Attempts to move illegal encampments with court orders have been frustrated by travellers shifting between sites within close proximity.

And in what has been described as a "farcical" situation one group facing eviction from Shelley Park in Boscombe left only to be immediately replaced by another group.

Bournemouth East MP David Atkinson has asked Dorset Police chief Jane Stichbury and Bournemouth Council chief executive David Newell to give him powerful reasons to convince the government to take action.

"I want their strongest possible recommendations to take to the government to show how they are powerless to deal with this problem," he said.

"The chief constable and chief executive should say the whole thing is a farce when, as we've seen at Shelley Park, one group is removed with a court order only to be replaced by another."

A court order to evict the current encampment at Shelley Park is expected to come into effect today.

In recent weeks travellers have moved between Shelley Park, Southbourne, Durley Chine, and Warren Edge in Bournemouth and also Stony Lane at Burton and the Avon Causeway at Sopley.

Bournemouth Independent Cllr Ron Whittaker is also calling for the government to tackle the problem.

He wants it to be made an offence for travellers to move onto land without permission in the first place - so they can be evicted immediately without delays waiting for court orders.

He said: "There should be legislation to prevent any invasion onto public property, open spaces and private land without prior permission."

And he wants to redress the balance between travellers' rights and the human rights of residents who bear the brunt of disruption, noise and mess which are created by illegal encampments.

A private member's bill put forward by Mr Atkinson to address the travellers issue is currently being considered by the government department preparing a new housing bill.