TRAVELLERS repeatedly staying in Prospect Park have forced the council to invest thousands of pounds restricting access to the site.

Fences, bunding banks, lockable height barriers and new wooden posts will all be installed to keep travellers off the field.

The works will cost around £24,700 after eight groups forced their way onto the park in since June 19.

Liz Terry, lead councillor for neighbourhoods told Reading Borough Council the incursions had increased after Gillet Way and Deacon Way had been secured.

"In addition to this a number of other locations that had been subject to unauthorised encampment have been or are now being developed such as Island Road.

"The council is also working with the police to use our legal powers of enforcement wherever possible.

"An unfortunate side effect of this success appears to be that traveller groups now have limited numbers of sites that they are able to access, notably Prospect Park, Palmer Park and Coley Recreation ground where there are long boundaries with limited protection."

She said a new post and rail fence along the Tilehurst Road boundary would cost £8,000 whilst the installation of lockable steel height barriers at the entrance and exit would cost a total of £9,700, the most expensive individual improvement.

The new banks along the main driveway would be the cheapest security at just £2,000. Finally replacing wooden posts on the south side of the driveway, between the football pitches and the top of the drive, would cost £5,000.

The money will come from a mix of Community Safety Captial, Section 106 receipts from developers and existing council budgets.

Work to secure sites across the borough is due to start over the next couple of weeks.