An order has today been granted by the courts giving travellers 24 hours to leave development land or face the bailiffs.

Seven caravans and six other vehicles arrived at The Stadium in Church Road, a site on Shorncliffe Heights in Cheriton, nearly a week ago.

Magistrates in Canterbury granted the order after Shepway District Council applied for a legal order to evict them this morning.

The land is owned by Taylor Wimpey and is undergoing redevelopment for up to 1,200 homes a nursery and a doctor's surgery.

The section 78 order now in place grants the council power to evict the travellers with bailiffs if they do not leave within the next 24 hours.

This is the third time in under a month of travellers setting up on land in Folkestone.

The court heard it has become a time-consuming process for the authority as the law means orders have to be sought for each piece of land when travellers pitch up.

A council spokesman said: “The travellers camped at The Stadium have not left the site.

“We have therefore applied to the magistrates court for an order that will allow us to take reasonable steps to remove them.

“Together with our partners, we act on reports of unauthorised encampments as a matter of urgency.

“In doing this we take account of the rights of all parties concerned while upholding the law.”