TRAVELLERS who set up camp near Pershore Abbey and last night parked next to the town's council offices face eviction.

District council managing director Jack Hegarty said the authority had ordered travellers to move off the Civic Centre car park in Queen Elizabeth Drive.

The travellers were recently ordered off the controversial Eckington site after developing it without permission. They then moved to council-controlled land close to Pershore Abbey at the weekend, sparking fears for Sunday's VE day celebrations planned to take place there.

But, after being served a notice on Monday, the group moved on to the car park last night in a move Mr Hegarty branded a political protest.

"They've mounted a deliberate campaign to disrupt the council," he said. "The council is under no obligation to be held to ransom by these threats and we'll be taking the necessary legal action."

Independent Worcester County Council candidate Danny Casey, slammed the authority for failing to speak to the travellers: "If they're going to refuse to meet them we'd like to get that in writing and we'll take it to court," he said.

Pershore district councillor Charles Tucker said: "We wouldn't want the council to enter negotiations at the moment as we see it as no more than a political protest."

But the council's head of legal and support services Ian Marshall said it would not be right to meet the travellers.

And Conservative county council candidate for Pershore Paul Middlebrough also hit out at the group.

"My concern is with the children and the mothers and how it's affecting them moving from site to site.

"They're being dragged around the county but they need a stable base."