TRAVELLERS have moved onto the car park of playing fields in Runcorn, with access to a nearby site set up in order to prevent such encampments 'restricted'.

An illegal camp was set up at Haddocks Wood on Friday, January 4 – around 200 yards away from the Warrington Road travellers' site.

One resident told the Runcorn and Widnes World that children's football games over the weekend had been disrupted by the encampment.

Meanwhile, access has been restricted to the nearby travellers site since before Christmas due to fly-tipping.

These restrictions were due to be lifted today, Thursday – at which point the travellers will be moved onto the Warrington Road site, which was opened in 2009 at a cost of more than £700,000.

A spokesman for Halton Borough Council said: "We have been dealing with the encampment since Friday.

"The transit site is not closed, but unfortunately due to fly-tipping issues we had to restrict access to it before Christmas.

"We are lifting the restriction today, and then the travellers will be transferred to the transit site."