Travellers living on green belt land could be allowed to stay despite an attempt by the council to remove them.

In 2006 Gravesham Borough Council won a protracted 16-month legal battle, giving a group of eight gipsy families living in White Post Lane, Sole Street, until October 1 this year to leave the beauty spot near Cobham.

But this week the travellers submitted a planning application for an extension to stay at the site for a further three years which Gravesham Borough Council will consider.

The unexpected move has meant the council will not be putting in its own application for the Springhead Road site in Northfleet which it had intentified as a possible new home for the families.