TRAVELLERS have arrived in Burnley just a day after a group were ordered to leave a site in Rossendale - leaving a £250,000 trail of destruction.

Travellers set up camp on the former Airtours site in Helmshore around a month ago and finally left the site after being evicted on Monday.

Around 14 caravans are thought to have arrived at the former athletics club in Bancroft Road - used by Michelin employees before it closed down in October, 2001 - on Tuesday night.

The athletics club is now owned by Metro Metals (Burnley) Ltd, a sheet metal company, based in Stanhope Street, Burnley.

Managing director Ross Shekleton confirmed the company has applied for a court order and has served notice on the travellers to leave the site.

He said: "They came on site between 8.30pm Tuesday and 7.50am Wednesday. We asked them to leave, which they failed to do, so I made an application to the courts for a possession order.

"They have now been served notice on 14 caravans and a number of vehicles and a judge will decide on Monday whether we are to get a possession order.

"Once granted we could evict them from the site. They haven't caused a huge amount of damage so far, but we will be monitoring them."

The rest of the former Michelin land is owned by the North West Development Agency which has built a technology centre on the site. Michelin closed in 2001 with the loss of 452 jobs.

Ward councillor Roger Frost said: "I am sure other councillors and residents will back me up when I say these travellers are not welcome in this site.

"I don't know if these travellers have come from the site in Rossendale but by the sounds of it they have done a lot of damage and we don't want that to happen here.

"Travellers who have been in Burnley before have left a trail of destruction to the detriment of the council and local parish council. I would hope whoever owns the land will take quick action for the removal of these people."

Police said they were unable to tell if the group were the same travellers who had left Helmshore.