FRENCH gipsies said they had found their holiday ‘paradise’ in Blackburn.

The group of 23, who are travelling around the UK as part of a four-month summer break, set up camp on a car park in the middle of the Ewood one-way-system.

They had been staying in Witton Park but said they decided to move their 11 caravans because it was too crowded. The police had also asked them to move on.

A group of Irish travellers also took up residence at Witton Park but they left yesterday.

Cooking chicken stir-fry in butter on a stove and sitting in a deckchair outside a caravan in Ewood, matriarch gipsy Maria said the town was on a list of destinations.

The group, which includes children, elders and a dog called Chico, will eventually head back to their home town of Strasbourg in France.

She said: “We are on holiday for three to four months and we are going everywhere.

“We started in Aberdeen and we will probably go to Manchester and London next. We wanted to visit Blackburn and we will go walking, take advantage of the sun and just see what is happening.

“It’s very nice here and we have had no problems.

“The people and the police have been very kind. People have accepted us nicely.

“We are French gipsies and it is a different culture. We are not like English gipsies. We are well organised and very clean.”

Maria said they were planning to stay until the weekend, when they would move onto their next town.

She said they were thoroughly enjoying their time in sunny Blackburn.

Maria said: “We are very happy here and it is nice to speak with the local people.

“We were at Witton Park, but there were too many people walking around and the police asked us to move.

“But we love it here. It is a real paradise.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We were informed that the group had moved onto the car park at Albion Road at 9.30pm on Wednesday.

“We went to speak to them and they said they were looking to move on tomorrow or Sunday before going back down south.

“They appeared friendly and stressed they would not leave a mess.

“We are not moving them at the moment, but we will continue to stay in touch with them and if they do not move on at the weekend, we may need to take further action.”

Residents had expressed their anger that the French gipsies and the Irish group had moved in near the pavilion in Witton Park.

However, by yesterday morning, both groups had moved on and the site was clear.