A council pursuing legal action against a caravan encampment says it is now in the hands of the courts, as the traveller at the centre of the dispute says he is braced for proceedings to start.

Landowner Tommy Smith and his family have been at the centre of a planning saga after moving onto the land, off Birling Road, Leybourne, last month.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) have issued a temporary stop notice and a planning contravention notice for the site, something locals have said was flouted.

TMBC say they “appreciate the concerns” of residents in the area and will be exercising their planning enforcement powers.

But they warned patience may be required after meeting with Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat and borough councillors.

A TMBC spokesman said: “We appreciate the concerns of local residents regarding this issue and the desire to see action taken.

“We are exercising our planning enforcement powers, having issued stop notices in relation to activity on the site and are now initiating court proceedings for a breach of the notices.

“We have met with Tom Tugendhat, borough councillors and representatives from the parish council and Leybourne Chase community organisation to provide an update on what we are doing.

“It should be noted that we are reliant on the magistrates court in terms of timescales and dates for a hearing.

“In the meantime, we will continue to visit the site regularly to build an evidence base which will inform further enforcement action.”

Last week, the travellers’ family dog, a golden white cocker spaniel puppy called Sandy, who is not yet one, went missing while two of their trailers were also razed to the ground in a suspicious fire. Police are investigating but say this week there are no fresh updates on either incident.

Mr Smith, a 30-year-old self-employed builder, claimed someone contacted them to say they have Sandy but are refusing to bring her back. He lost keepsakes and irreplaceable photos in the blaze.

Asked for an update on the situation, father-of-three Mr Smith said: “We have not heard much more.

“Police have been in touch a couple of times, but we have not heard much more beyond that.

“But fingers crossed, we get a bit of progress.

“The kids are still really upset. They cannot understand why Sandy is not there.”

Mr Smith moved onto the plot, with his pregnant wife Theresa, their children - 13-year-old Caroline, Tommy Jr, six, and four-year-old Michael - and in-laws around Saturday, June 19.

The site is the subject of a pending planning application for two stables but residents complained when they started to see construction vehicles going onto the site, next to ancient woodland, as well as unauthorised caravans and mobile homes being set up.

Eleanor Hoyle, director of planning, housing and environmental health for TMBC, first said the council would be progressing with prosecution action through the magistrates court last week.

She did however point out, if successful, this would only punish the landowner for the breaches of the enforcement notice.

To remove the development itself, separate enforcement action would be needed.

Mr Smith said: “I understand the enforcement action is going to happen but I don’t know when.

“Our planning agent, Prideaux Planning Ltd, is dealing with that.”

On Thursday, fire crews also attended another fire on the site - but this turned out to be a controlled bonfire, and Kent Fire and Rescue staff stayed for less than 15 minutes.

“We were just burning some paper and cardboard. For some reason, the fire service got called,” Mr Smith said.

At the last count, TMBC predicted a shortfall of 29 gypsy and traveller sites in the borough, up until 2022.

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