TRAVELLERS living on the former Airtours site in Helmshore were today being given 24 hours to leave the area.

The site owners, who want to develop the land, have obtained a court order and a bailiff was due to visit the site today to serve it on the travellers.

Landowners claim the travellers have caused more than £200,000 of damage to one of the buildings and that a massive clearing-up operation is needed.

The developers were accused of enticing the travellers on to the site in a bid to encourage planners to rush through their scheme.

But Manchester Land and Building, which owns it, has rejected the allegations and said it would cost a fortune to clear up the site Holcombe Road site.

Bellway Homes Ltd, a Manchester-based firm, plans to build 89 apartments, detached, semi-detached and terrace houses, as well as 10 office units on the site.

Airtours moved around 1,000 of its workers from the Helmshore headquarters to Rochdale more than three years ago.

A spokesman for Manchester Land and Buildings said: "We are pleased that we can see an end to this unhappy chapter. Our solicitors were able to obtain a court order on Wednesday giving us a formal 'warrant of possession' for the site.

"Our bailiff will visit the land and issue the travellers with 24 hours notice to leave. If they don't leave within that time they will then be forcibly removed.

"We also have a team of men ready to secure the area as soon as the site is back in our possession. They will board up the buildings and install new gates to try to stop a repeat of this situation.

"Then we will start a clean-up operation. This could take some time. We estimate that our uninvited guests have caused more than £200,000 worth of damage to one of our buildings.

"In the meantime we have tried to keep the residents fully informed of our efforts to bring this situation to a satisfactory conclusion. We have done this via the Community Beat Manager for Helmshore, PC Chris Kett.

"Hopefully this action will bring to an end this whole distressing episode, which has proved extremely time-consuming, costly and unwelcome for us and frustrating for the local community."