BARROW Council has confirmed that the travellers that were occupying the war memorial on James Freel Close have now vacated.

The caravans pulled up in the area shortly before Christmas, according to the council, and were taking legal action to remove them from Furness Business Park.

Barrow Borough Council said they were ordered to leave by January 6, but they remained on the site for a short while longer before leaving.

This will be a relief to business owners in the area who shared their concern upon the arrival of several caravans back in December.

One business owner said several firms on the estate were fearful for a potential drop in trade as a result.

In addition to that, the dogs belonging to the travellers were said to have been barking constantly and the owners of the caravans had allegedly been hostile towards people going past, one business owner claimed.

Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council, speaking before the travellers left said: “Some members of the travelling community arrived at James Freel Close shortly before Christmas.

“A formal Direction to Leave notice was served requiring them to leave the site by January 6.

“The council is now taking further legal action to ensure compliance with the order mentioned above.”

Another issue members of the public in the James Freel Close area had been that the travellers had been supplied with bins, which they believed could have enticed them to stay longer.

But a council spokesman explained the bins were provided so that rubbish did not pile up.

According to recent data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, there were 11 traveller caravans in Barrow last summer – unchanged from July 2019, when the last summer count took place.

Of those counted last year, none were on unauthorised pitches unlike those parked up now.

Across England, 21,000 traveller caravans were on approved pitches at the first count since the coronavirus pandemic began – almost 90 per cent of those counted.

However, the figures show 3,000 were on unauthorised encampments, with most of those situated on land belonging to travellers and Gypsies.