A FAMILY of Travellers have been ordered to leave an unauthorised camp at a Chester church.

Cheshire West and Chester Council legal representatives appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 28, to apply for a removal order in respect of the family, plus two other unknown persons, at an unauthorised encampment.

The site where the family are staying is in a vehicle at the !Audacious Church on Sovereign Way, Chester.

The council legal representative explained to the court the family had previously been served with a notice on April 16 to leave the land by 5pm on April 17.

The family failed to comply with the eviction notice so the local authority had subsequently applied to the magistrates court for a removal order.

Magistrates granted the order.

A criminal offence is committed if Travellers fail to leave the land as soon as practicable after receiving a direction from the local authority to move, and the Travellers can be fined. Travellers can also be fined if they return to the land with their vehicle within three months.