Bradford Council is caught in a game of cat and mouse trying to prevent a group of travellers setting up illegal encampments in the city.

Hours after the courts granted permission to move on 15 caravans from St Thomas's car park, off Westgate, the travellers had resettled 200 yards away in Tyson Street.

They have moved into another car park owned by the Council, behind a mosque, angering the local community and traders.

Mounds of rubbish was left behind in St Thomas's Road, including gas canisters, general household waste and soiled nappies.

Val Summerscales, secretary of Bradford Chamber of Trade, said: "It's unacceptable that they can take a stance like that in a Council-owned car park.

"They're a nuisance, it prevents income being generated from the car park, they leave a mess which creates a bad image for visitors and it's the ratepayers who keep picking up the tab.

"We are losing out two-fold - on the cost of an injunction to move them and to clean up the rubbish when they leave."

She said existing legislation was failing the community.

"We keep asking for adequate legislation that means when they pitch up they can be shifted immediately," she said.

"They know it's usually a week before the Council gets an injunction and they wait until the last few hours before the legalities kick in and then move somewhere else. It's really, really galling."

Resident Ann Milner, who lives near the Tyson Street car park, said: "I don't like it, it's disgusting. I saw them moving in last night and reported it to the police. They've been here before and last time they were selling furniture."

One businessman, who did not want to be identified, said: "It takes too long to move them on, that time needs to be drastically reduced to safeguard the general public.

"Irrespective of the cost of moving them on, it's a shambles that the city council allows them to be here."

A Council spokesman said: "Even though we issued a possession order for the land at the St Thomas car park on Monday, we are now having to go through the process of applying to the courts again for a new order because the travellers have moved on to a different site."