Travellers thrown off

The parish council said the unwelcome visitors smashed a concrete post, used a saw to cut through a tree, and sawed branches off surrounding trees in a bid to get in to Burnham Park. They were evicted from the site the same day by police. Burnham Parish Council clerk Janet Holmes said: "We apologise to people who usually use the footpath to get into the park, but we are closing it while we make it safe. "It's the nuisance rather than the cost of the damage which is the problem." The parish council discussed closing the footpath as "a matter of urgency" during a meeting on Monday, At the moment the council has protective banks of earth in place around other parts of the park to prevent caravans and cars being able to drive on to the site. In 2004, the council put in measures, which included digging a trench around the outside of the park and putting in bollards at entry points, to stop cars and caravans getting in.