Bradford Council and the police have come under attack from a property developer after it spent £2,000 removing gipsies from its land.

David White, group property supervisor for Ogden Properties Ltd, said the company even got a court order to close the road leading to the former Transperience Discovery Park in Low Moor.

But people using four caravans and two vehicles got behind concrete barriers put up to block the entrance to Transperience Way and will not move.

Mr White said: "We moved the gipsies off our land at huge expense. We then got a temporary closing order for Transperience Way in December which became a permanent order on Christmas Day.

"The caravans which are still on the road are now breaking the law but the Council or the police don't seem to want to know.

"Residents are ringing me up daily saying the place is becoming a health hazard with excrement being dumped and fly-tipping."

A Bradford Council spokesman said the maintenance of the closed road, an adopted highway, remained its responsibility but it was Ogden's responsibility to put up a suitable barrier to prevent access to the road.

The spokesman said it would contact the company again to offer it further advice on how to deal with the issue and its gipsy liaison service was also monitoring the situation.

Inspector Paul Jeffrey, of Odsal Police, said he sympathised with Ogden's position and the situation was reviewed daily.

He added: "There is minimal disruption caused to the community by these travellers and they are in a non-residential area.

"We are looking at the question of taking positive action with respect to removing the vehicles and appropriate action will be taken as necessary."

Odgens bought the site in July last year but did not take it over until October.

l On Monday Bradford Council's Gipsy Liaison Unit will seek a court order to repossess land opposite the Foster Square Retail Park in Bradford city centre after a group of gipsies set up camp there over a week ago.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.