EVICTION notices have been served on travellers who have turned an open field near Eckington into a hard surface for a dozen caravans.

The first caravans moved on to the field on Friday after the land was bought from a farmer, and contractors started work on Saturday morning - even though planning permission had not been granted.

"Contractors' lorries bringing hardcore began roaring through Eckington at 9am," said county and district councillor Adrian Hardman.

"Four earth-moving machines began ripping out a hedge, filling in a ditch and making an access on to the B4080, a fast stretch of road known locally as the 'Eckington Ton'."

Wychavon District Council is serving stop and enforcement notices on the travellers, who submitted a planning application for eight pitches late on Friday afternoon.

If the notices are ignored, the matter will be taken to the High Court.

Coun Hardman, who visited the site on Saturday morning with Wychavon's managing director, Jack Hegarty, said they told the travellers they were in breach of planning regulations.

"The original contractors acted responsibly by pulling out when they learned they were working on an illegal site, but others moved in later and continued to level, hardcore and tarmac the field," he said.

The site, which is prone to flooding, is in Green Belt, on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

There are safety concerns about the access on to the B4080 and an unmanned rail crossing at the back of the site.

"It is such a flagrant breach of the planning regulations, that we have to take it very, very seriously," said Coun Hardman.

"If we allowed this site to remain it would undermine the whole planning structure."

Around 150 people from Eckington, Bredon and Bredon's Norton gathered outside the Bell Inn, Eckington, on Sunday morning to air their worries with council representatives and West Worcestershire MP Sir Michael Spicer.

"It is totally unacceptable that planning laws should be flouted by a small minority of the population," said Sir Michael.

"This is not only an eyesore but causes anxieties about security in the neighbouring villages.

"It also causes potential traffic hazards," he added.