Travellers who have set up camp at Cascades Leisure Centre, Gravesend, are expected to be served with a court order to leave by tomorrow.

A total of 10 caravans moved on to an overflow car park at the site in Thong Lane.

The area is usually locked and secure but it is not known how they gained access.

A council spokesman said: "It is our land and they don’t have permission to be there so the council is seeking the appropriate legal documents to have them removed.

"We are in court this afternoon and if we obtain the order it will be served by tomorrow, although it is quite common for them to disperse just as the court orders arrive.”

The travellers arrived on Friday last week but are not believed to have caused any disruption.

Council staff delivered a supply of black sacks to them over the weekend.

Other travellers sparked anger in the summer when an illegal camp set up on land at Gravesend’s Cyclopark left taxpayers with a £15,000 bill to clear up the mess left behind.

Previous sites used this year have also included the former Esso petrol station near the Gravesend East junction of the A2, land at Gravesend Grammar School for Boys, Darenth Country Park and Swanley Park.