A PARK is to be fenced off to prevent travellers gaining access and setting up an illegal encampment and to stop nuisance cars and bikes churning up the grass.

Ward councillors told this evening's Little Lever and Darcy Lever Area Forum meeting they had allocated a little more than £15,000 for the work at playing fields at Hill Top in Little Lever from a delegated Bolton Council budget to be spent on local projects.

Councillor Sean Hornby, a Ukip ward councillor, said he believes the council should change its approach to how it deals with evicting travellers who set up camp without permission - and explained how a previous Ukip motion to that affect was voted down at April's full council meeting.

He told the area forum meeting: "We're still trying to get a meeting together but officers are reluctant to hold this meeting so we decided to find the money and use it to fence Hill Top off.

"That should take away the problem from Hill Top.

"There will be a gate that's lockable as environmental services still need to get on there to cut the grass.

"Where the fence ends there will be a 3-foot gap so people can step off the pavement into the park."

Residents at the meeting, held at St Stephen and All Martyrs C of E Primary School in Radcliffe Road, Darcy Lever, welcomed the news for the area, which is considered by locals as a village green.

The progress comes after attendees at the previous ward area forum held in March demanded action in the wake of 10 vehicles each towing a caravan pulling up and pitching on the green space for a few days.

Sergeant Alex Metcalfe, from the local integrated neighbourhood policing team, told the meeting he had been speaking to the council's gypsy and traveller liaison officers to evaluate if the current approach to evicting travellers was working.

Mr Hornby said he intends to re-submit his motion about altering the council's policy on tackling travellers to October's full council meeting.