Travellers have been removed from an encampment at Cintra Park in Reading after Thames Valley Police (TVP) used its powers under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 yesterday to remove the encampment.

An encampment was set up at Cintra Park, angering locals and disrupting a football match,with the park’s gate breached using powered cutting equipment.

Residents across Reading have expressed their annoyance at Reading Borough Council (RBC) for failing to prevent traveller convoys moving onto the town’s parks but swift action was taken this time around.

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Police have discretionary section 61 powers to remove unauthorised encampments, which they decide based on guidance such as whether there is a danger to life or disruption to the local economy.

Otherwise, the council must go to court to get permission to  use section 78 powers to evict an encampment, which can be a lengthy process.

According to one resident, things “nearly got ugly” in the south-east Reading park on Tuesday, with caravans driving across football pitches mid-game.

Local resident Oli Butler slammed the council, tweeting: “Travellers are back in Cintra Park again due to the total lack of action, terrible security, and ‘don’t really care’ approach of RBC.

“If I stop paying my council tax I’ll get a visit soon enough, won’t I?

“Reading Labour councillors need to understand that it nearly got ugly in the park today.

“Football was on – vans nearly driving across the pitches mid game, football families getting very angry, local residents getting very angry. Patience is running very short.”

Travellers had pitched up at Palmer Park in late July and left on Tuesday, with the east Reading park now cleaned-up and re-secured, but a new encampment was set up the same day in Cintra Park.

Mr Butler said there have been four incursions at Cintra Park this year alone and it has “got out of hand”.  Prior to Tuesday, Cintra Park’s gates were most recently forced open by travellers in June who left the same month.

He added: “Our community is really angry we’ve got law abiding folks who have never shown any civil disobedience wondering how we can withhold council tax payments to get some attention from the council.

“It has to stop. The environmental impact is bad enough from human waste, burning of cables, oil and petrol being spilt in the park.

“Then there is the behaviour, confrontations, late night noise, constant high speed driving of vans up and down the roads – the list goes on.

“The security efforts made by the council are pointless so this is an open-ended problem unless they install a rising bollard.”

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The council said it has already ordered a bollard for the gated entrance on Cintra Avenue and will be installing it as soon as it arrives.

Travellers abandoned another encampment at John Rabson Recreation Ground at the end of July, leaving a caravan behind which was then torched.

The caravan remains have now been removed by the council, more than two weeks later.