MALVERN’S MP Harriett Baldwin has teamed up with her fellow Worcestershire MPs to call for greater powers allowing police to deal with travellers.

Peter Luff, Robin Walker, Mark Garnier, Sajid Javid, Karen Lumley and Mrs Baldwin have written a joint letter to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke requesting police are given new powers to cope with threatened or actual encampments of travellers on locations where they are trespassing or intend to do so.

They say a number of incidents over the past year have highlighted this need.

“We have seen persistent incursions onto land in the County and the need for the police and local authorities in partnership to take action to seek to remove the individuals concerned. In many cases the numbers can be quite large and we have been experiencing intentional and repetitive trespass.”

They say the law should be amended to make it clear that, unless they have demonstrable proof that the landowner is willing for them to occupy the land, travellers will not be allowed to enter. It would also allow officers to stipulate other areas in the vicinity where they should not go.

They add: “We have discussed with West Mercia Police and our local authorities a more radical approach of including a new criminal offence of intentional trespass (which was mentioned in the Conservative Open Source Planning Green Paper). We recognise the difficulties of such a blanket provision but would welcome your views.”