BOLTON Council has ordered a group of travellers to move on from an area of land in Farnworth.

The authority was notified that the group had pitched up on playing fields next to Conway Street — which are used by the nearby St Peter’s CE Primary School.

Council staff visited the site yesterday and served the travellers with a notice, demanding that they leave the area within 24 hours.

If the group fail to move on within that allotted timeframe, the authority will seek the help of Bolton Magistrate’s Court in enforcing their departure.

A spokesman for the council said: “We are aware of travellers on the site and served them with a notice on Friday (July 31) to leave within 24 hours. If they don’t do this, we will apply to the magistrate’s court for a summons to remove them from the land.”

Last year The Bolton News reported that almost £10,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent by Bolton Council on evicting travellers off public land since 2010.

The figures —obtained via a Freedom of Information request — indicated that there had been 26 incidents where travellers had trespassed on council land.

When people move on to public land illegally, the council obtains a county court order to start the eviction process.

Once the order has been served at the site, the trespassers must leave within 48 hours.

Earlier this month, travellers set-up in a disused car park off Topp Way, just outside Bolton Town Centre, for the second time this year.