A CITY councillor has blamed the county council for not doing enough to prevent the return of travellers who plagued a part of Oxford two years ago.

Marston Ferry Road in Marston, has been used by the travelling community a number of times in recent years, and in October 2015 the county council took them to court in a successful battle to move them on.

Yesterday, two caravans were spotted at the road and city councillor Mary Clarkson said that bollards, which had previously been removed, could have prevented the travellers coming back but the county council had ignored her pleas.

She said: “It is particularly annoying because I have been asking for bollards to be there since January.

“The solution to keep out the travellers obviously is to just replace the bollards but I have been asking for this to be done for months and nothing has happened.

“After the travellers dispersed last time the county council said they would replace it.

“The bollards would not cost as much money as it costs in legal action to actually get them moved on.”

In October 2015, Oxford Magistrates’ Court issued a Section 78 order demanding they vacate from the same site.

It followed complaints about parked cars creating a hazard for cyclists, and concerns about rubbish being left in the area.

In response, Oxfordshire County Council said late yesterday that it was in the process of having new bollards installed.

Spokeswoman Emily Reed said: “We have listened to the concerns of local residents and have purchased new bollards to deter unauthorised vehicular access.

“Unfortunately a group of travellers illegally accessed the land before their installation was completed. We have spoken with the travellers to understand their intentions as is normal practice. We will be liaising with TVP to assess whether they will be taking any action in relation to this encampment. If they are not going to act in this instance, we will start the process to have the travellers moved on.”