THE GROUP of travellers which descended on a beauty spot in Gosport has been given a stay of execution after a judge refused to issue an eviction notice.

Officers from Gosport Council were hoping to serve the notice on the group of about 40 caravans, plus lorries and cars yesterday afternoon.

However, instead of ordering them off the land at Alver Valley, a county court judge said a technicality over who owned the site meant paperwork should be re-served on the travellers.

The delay means the council now has to go back to Portsmouth Combined Crown and County Court on Wednesday to request the order for a second time.

Environmental health officer David Palmer said: "We went to court with the deeds for the land but the judge insisted that paperwork needed to be reserved on the travellers. It means we must wait until Wednesday for our next court date to ask for them to be removed. It does appear to be getting harder to win eviction notices in these cases, certainly with the aspect of human rights being brought into the equation."

Council officers, accompanied by a police escort, complied with the request and handed over the paperwork yesterday afternoon.

Mr Palmer said: "This is certainly one of the biggest groups we have had to deal with so we are hoping the eviction notice will be adhered to once served.

"That still leaves us with the problem of clearing up the mess left behind which will no doubt be a big job."

The number of vehicles at Alver Valley swelled over the weekend as a group that had broken into private land at Stubbington joined them.

Fareham farmer Basil Baird was again left to shore up security measures to prevent yet more invasions on his land off Peak Lane.

It is believed they were the same group that spent six weeks on land at Eastleigh, leaving a clear-up bill running into thousands of pounds. Already the scene of their latest encampment is bearing similar hallmarks with an abandoned car littering the recreation ground.