A GROUP of gipsies flouting planning laws have claimed their human rights would be breached if they were forced to move.

The warning came on the first day of a public inquiry at Bredon village hall to hear the Eckington travellers' appeal against an enforcement notice imposed on them by Wychavon District Council.

The travellers, thought to be about 50-strong, have successfully blocked attempts to evict them by launching the appeal.

They are also expected to appeal against a planning application that was rejected by the council in August. That case may not be heard until October next year.

And at the beginning of this appeal yesterday, Dr Donald Kenrick, representing the gipsies, said they were prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, which could take up to half a decade.

"I expect to win this case, even if it goes all the way to Europe, which could take five years," he said.

"They have to balance their human rights against the impact on the countryside and it is obvious which is more important."

Eviction notices were served on the group when the first caravans moved on to a field near the picturesque village at the end of May this year.

But the travellers, who have bought the one-and-a-half acre site, have since gravelled over the land and surrounded it by fences. The group has also installed water and electricity.

They say they have nowhere else to go. But Wychavon has more than four times the number of plots for travellers provided by the average local authority.

The inquiry continues today.