The owners of a Bradford retail park have vowed to take tough action against a group of Gipsies camped on their land.

Six caravans and various other vehicles have been gathering on the land opposite the Forster Square Retail Park since Sunday.

Now nearby firms fear that travellers in 24 other caravans, who are due to be evicted from Undercliffe, may join them next week.

Roland Stross, of Asda St James, the firm which owns the retail park, said: "We will not have gipsies in the park and we will be seeking to evict them as soon as possible."

Dora Lister of Carpet World, which is next door to the site, said the Gipsies have not bothered anyone yet but they will be on guard against any others joining them on Carpet World's side of the wall.

"Our barriers lock at night so we should be okay," she said.

The group have been selling rugs which they have draped over the fences around the site.

"It doesn't present a very good image on us if people are sitting there selling them off a fence," she added.

A spokesman at Furniture City, who did not want to be named, said those that were there would have had to break into the area to get in.

"They would have had to cut the bolts off at the gate to get in. The caravans look very nice and I don't understand why they have to do this - they seem to have some money."

The travellers have been setting up illegal camps and being moved on for months in areas around the city while Bradford Council's official sites remain full.

Before Christmas they were evicted from the car park of Arnold Laver DIY in Canal Road. Some settled on Council land in Undercliffe.

A neighbour there told the T&A: "There are now 24 caravans and the area's a tip, really nasty, but the Council say they should be gone by the middle of next week."

A spokesman at Bradford Council's Gipsy Liaison Unit said: "We are seeking a court order to repossess this land. The case is due to be heard on Monday, January 11."

Other caravans dispersed to Transperience Way, near the M606 where five of them now remain.

Property developer Tim Garnett, of Ogden, which now owns Transperience, said they were not on the company's land but on the public highway.

"We have got a road closure order and blocked them in but there is nothing more we can do despite complaints from residents up there.

"Today we received a letter from Leeds City Council about another site of ours in Tingley, an old railway site, saying we have to clear up what gipsies have left behind there, in 21 days or face a fine of up to £20,000."

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