AN ANGRY councillor has called for travellers to be removed from a Bradford Council-owned city centre car park.

A group of travellers have camped out at a Council-owned pay and display car park off Radwell Drive, among employees of various businesses nearby.

They arrived last weekend and now the Council has started legal action to evict them from the land and have applied for a possession order from Bradford County Court.

A group of caravans were yesterday seen parked up on the site among people's vehicles on the car park.

If the possession order is granted, the council will have the power to remove the group from the land.

Nazam Azam (City, Lab) says he is "fully supportive" of Bradford Council's actions after the traveller's "unjustified" week-long occupancy of the site.

He said: "This is something that needs to be acted upon.

"For the travellers to come onto the site for nearly a week on a council-owned car park is completely unjustified.

"The problem of travellers camping out on sites illegally comes up from time to time in the city ward. The right precautions have been taken by the council here.

"We can't have people moving onto council-owned land.

"It's annoying to see that travellers have moved onto the car park. They don't take into consideration existing residents living there.

"The council taking the travellers to court is a last resort. I was not aware of this case before myself.

"We want them to move on as quickly as possible, so the council can get the car park back to normality. It is not just about the associated problems that these travellers camps bring such as littering or anti-social behaviour.

"I'm fully supportive of the council's actions.

"At times, travellers have come and left these types of sites within a couple of days.

"It has a massive impact on on the residents. There is a visual impact and it's annoying to see that they are here too.

John Major, Bradford Council’s assistant director for environmental health and regulatory services, confirmed the council were taking action yesterday against the group of travellers.

He said: “We went to court yesterday to ask for a possession order for Radwell Drive car park which has been illegally occupied by travellers since last weekend.

“If the order is granted, it will be served immediately so the travellers will have to leave the Bradford Council-owned land.

”As soon they have moved on we will clean up the site.”