COURT proceedings against a group of gipsies living on an unauthorised site near Wyre Piddle are to be pursued by Wychavon District Council.

Following a planning appeal last October, the group was given six months to sort out the site's foul drainage and resubmit another application. Their new plans for the land, which they own, have generated serious misgivings among council officers.

The group plan to install nine large chalets and double the amount of caravans currently on the site, if their application is successful. Last week they provoked outrage from nearby residents by installing one of the 40-ft chalets without permission, breaking planning laws.

Ian Marshall, Wychavon's head of legal services, said: "We have had a response from the gipsies' solicitor but frankly he has not raised anything of great substance. It's our intention to go forward with legal procedures.

"The gipsies are on the Wyre Piddle site in breach of enforcement notices. We still don't know if they have resolved the foul drainage problems on the site, but they have taken close to six months to resubmit a (planning) application."