An early-morning face-off led a farmer to chase travellers from land earmarked as Colchester’s official traveller site.

Stuart St Clair Pearce says he challenged travellers trying to move caravans on land in Severalls Lane, next to his property. As a result, they gave up.

The incident, at about 6.30am on Thursday, came as other travellers camped nearby at Axial Way vowed they would to stay put until an official site opened.

Mr St Clair Pearce said: “It’s not my favourite thing to be doing first thing in the morning. Luckily, we were able to move them on.

“I think they must have known the land had been put forward as a traveller site and reacted to that.”

Mr St Clair Pearce is in a legal battle with Essex County Council over its plans to use the field as a traveller site.He says he owns land needed for a footpath leading to the site and refuses to sell it.

The council insists plans are progressing and work will start later this year.

Borough councillor for High Woods, Gerard Oxford, is backing Mr St Clair Pearce. He said: “The Land Registry is looking at his claim to ownership and we are waiting for it to make a judgement. The council says work will start, on the basis it hopes it will all be resolved, but at this stage, nothing has been agreed.”

Two traveller caravans which had been parked off Axial Way, near Colchester United’s Weston Homes Community Stadium, on Tuesday were gone yesterday. Five remained in a separate area yards away.

Mr Oxford said he wanted all the junctions along Axial Way – built in anticipation of future housing developments and now being used by travellers – to be blocked off.

He said: “They have blocked one, but until they do them all, the travellers will always be able to get on there.”