CALLS for action have been made by a councillor after a group of travellers moved on to a site in the district.

Around 15 caravans were spotted entering a site off Keighley Road near Bingley Grammar School at around midday today.

Later in the day, young children could be seen riding on ‘mini-moto’ dirt bikes without helmets or any protective clothing at the site.

The land is thought to include at least part of the old cattle market auction site, and the identity of the landowner is unclear.

A member of the public saw the group moving onto the site as he drove past on his way to work.

The man, who asked not to be named, said seeing travellers in Bingley worried him.

He said: “It does concern me that they are there, I saw quite a number of vehicles; they were three going onto site as I went past and there were already 12 on there.”

Councillor Mark Shaw (Bingley, Conservative) expressed dismay at travellers arriving in the town.

He said: “We could do without travellers in Bingley.

“Everytime they visit a site they leave it in a mess, I am not happy about having them in Bingley.

“I will be speaking to my colleagues about it to try and get them moved on as quickly and efficiently as possible, because we don’t need them here.

“I had a visit down at the site and it looks like the travellers have taken a padlock off the gate to gain access to the land.

“I have spoken with the Gypsy Liaison Office, and as it is not local authority land we cannot do anything until the landowner makes a decision.”

As of last night, Cllr Shaw said both he and Bradford Council had made numerous attempts to contact the landowner, but he was not responding to calls.

The Bradford Council website states that it is the responsibility of the landowner to move travellers from private land.

It says: “If the land is privately owned, the owners are responsible for ending the occupation of the land and not the local authority.

“Gypsy Liaison Officers visit all sites and will advise companies and individuals on how to handle the situation.”

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “We are trying to contact the landowner to provide advice on the legal process for obtaining possession of their land and clearing the site once the travellers have moved off.”