Council chiefs are hopeful that new boulders and ditches will prevent land being taken over by travellers this summer.

Both Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council have put in place the measures to prevent vehicles getting onto land near Washford Farm, Singleton and Stanhope.

In Knoll Lane the borough council has been responsible for a new ditch and barriers to prevent caravan access, while near Stanhope the county council has put in ditches and boulders.

Washford ward Cllr Neil Shorter (Con) said the measures will ensure that Ashford won’t see a repeat of scenes in previous years where residents complained of rubbish and anti-social behaviour.

He said: "There have been three incidents of travellers arriving year on year causing disruption to the local population, resulting in such a mess which is simply not acceptable.

"I insisted officers put in protection, and the ditch seems to have been quite effective last year. At Park Farm last we put in ten yard skips full of rubble to prevent access and they left after four days.

"The ditch in Knoll Lane and around Cuckoo Lane has been successful. Hopefully this will discourage all the problems and disquiet that comes with it.

"I do know that these methods are cost effective, as they are cheaper than the cost of clearing up the sites after the travellers have gone. It's money well spent in my view

"We've also built up a better relationship with the police to use appropriate powers to tackle anti-social behaviour rather than relying on the council to use civil powers.

"I suppose you can't protect everywhere, but we're doing the best we can to make it less tenable for them wherever they go. We will see the effect by the end of June or July."