The owners of the site of an illegal camp near Ludlow were today warned they would face legal action if travellers did not move on from the location.

South Shropshire District Council is clearing The Oakery, Richards Castle, because the site does not have planning consent to be used as a travellers camp.

Two families were due to leave yesterday and a further seven are due to leave on July 28.

Site owner Tom Evans has appealed against the clearance and a planning inquiry will take place on October 2.

Yesterday, Mr Evans said families did not want to leave and hoped to stay at the site until the planning inquiry.

However district council planning head Jake Berriman said there would be no stay of execution. He said travellers and Mr Evans had been helpful in negotiating a timetable for their departure but the planning inquiry on October 2 did not mean they could stay until then.

“There will be no stay of execution,” said Mr Berriman. “We have a timetable for people to leave the site. We will check on Monday and we will report with an update to the council’s development control committee on Wednesday.

“The remaining residents have given us a time, which is July 28, when they will all have gone.”

Mr Berriman said planning officers would visit the site to carry out checks and make sure people complied with orders.

Mr Evans said: “The whole thing is loopy. The district council spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to find another site. They looked all over, upset lots of people, and couldn’t find a site. But there’s a site here and the families are settled.”