A total of eight caravans and seven vehicles have left the Abbey Retail Park in Barking, following an inspection by officers from Barking and Dagenham Council in conjunction with the council funded Estates Police Team.

The officers visited the site on 1 March 2018, where they discovered the collection of vehicles alongside dumped bulky waste, wood and rubble.

It was agreed by the individuals interviewed that they would leave the site once weather conditions improved, and the travellers had indeed vacated the land when officers visited the following day.

The council will continue to work with the police to put an end to the serial fly tipping and other unlawful behaviour that we often see on these sites

This resolution demonstrated the continuing success of the unlawful encampment injunction, granted by the High Court to Barking and Dagenham Council in October 2017.

The injunction bans unlawful campsites from being set up and also prohibits fly-tipping. Any breach of the order is a contempt of court, punishable by a term of imprisonment.

Councillor Laila Butt, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, reacted to the news, saying:

“This is another example of the success that we are seeing in Barking and Dagenham, when it comes to moving on people who have set up illegal encampments in the borough.

“The council will continue to work with the police to put an end to the serial fly tipping and other unlawful behaviour that we often see on these sites, to make the borough a better place for all the residents who live and work here.”