Travellers have pitched up on public land, making a bee-line for one of the few areas in a village not protected by security measures costing £36,000.

The group of travelling people have already been ousted from Gatland Lane recreation ground and then from a nearby site off Hermitage Lane earmarked for house building, both in Maidstone.

Now they have settled at a patch of grass in Lillieburn, off Castle Way in Leybourne, arriving at around 9pm last night.

While the site is encircled with ragstone boulders to stop caravans, the visitors have simply dragged them out of the way to make an entrance.

Leybourne Parish Council spent the £36,000, along with money from a 10% increase in council tax, on fencing, gates and drop down posts after a number of unauthorised encampments appeared in the village.

The boulders were an older measure in other areas. The parish council has replaced them with the funding.

However, this latest incursion has highlighted the gaps in the villages defences with a Parish Council spokesman admitting the current security was "insufficient."

At the time of the investment Cllr Sasha Luck said that the travellers worried and intimidated residents and installing the measures was "the only way" to keep travellers off.

MP for Tonbridge and Malling Tom Tugendhat also spoke up in support of the parish council.

To solve the problem, parish councillors have put forward proposals for a £13,000 metal fence, a quarter of which will be paid for with parish funds.

They are now awaiting a decision from borough councillors, expected next month, if the remaining funding can be secured.

If the planning committee give it the go-ahead it will then be subject to a full council decision in July.

In the meantime Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council spokeswoman Debi Rice confirmed that the authority was taking steps to remove the encampment and was in the process of applying for a Section 61 order, a piece of legislation used to evict them.

Residents living near Gatland Lane are having to cope with large piles of waste left behind by the unwanted visitors including a bag full of DVDs and a gas cannister. The authority has been contacted asking for details about the time frame of the clean-up.

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