Basildon Council has agreed to meet Dale Farm neighbour Len Gridley after he tried to take legal action at the High Court.

Mr Gridley, 52, today applied for an injunction to force the council to remove soil and rubble bunds around cleared traveller pitches at the former illegal site, saying they were an eyesore, as bad as when the camp was there.

His application was thrown out by the judge, but Mr Gridley hinted it was only the first round of legal action against the authority over alleged maladministration in connection with Dale Farm and the neighbouring legal site.

He claims the council has affecte dhis house price by taking too long to clear the site and has allowed families to increase the size of the legal site from 34 to around 40 pitches without planning permission.

A council spokesman said: "We have agreed to speak to Mr Gridley about his concerns, which is something we would have been happy to do before he took this to court."