TRAVELLERS will be booted off land almost immediately and could face fines of up to £2,500 in new laws.

As part of the so-called Irish Option, police will have the power to remove illegal encampments almost straightaway.

Under the new law, trespassing is now an illegal act.

Both MP’s and police chiefs have expressed their delight at the move.

Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, who campaigned for the Irish Option for more than three years, said: “While many Travellers co-exist with the settled community perfectly legally, unfortunately some others do not.

“I am delighted that the Government has now brought forward legislation to enact the Irish Option into law.

“It will act as a strong deterrent to anyone, including travellers, who seeks to deliberately flout the law, by illegally occupying land which they do not own.

“This tough new legislation should help put an end to the annual cat and mouse game between Travellers acting illegally on the one hand and police and authorities on the other.”

The Irish Option, which will offically enter the statutory book by the end of the Spring, has been touted for years in south Essex.

Illegal encampments have plagued Basildon, Southend, and Rochford in the past few years.

Wickford has seen several traveller camps in recent weeks.

The Irish Option was first introduced in the Republic of Ireland, which saw police given powers to seize any property, including vehicles, by anyone committing the trespassing offence.

But Mick Thwaites, a former Chief Superintendent at Essex Police in Southend, believes the new law won’t “make a difference.”

He said: “It’s difficult to police. Every encampment is different to each other, they all have different circumstances.

“Council’s and police need to work together a bit more. There isn’t always a joined up approach.

“The population is split on travellers, some people are happy to leave them, but some don’t want them at all.

“I don’t think it will make much difference at all.”

Roger Hirst, the police, fire, and crime commissioner for Essex, added: “This recent announcement that a new criminal offence will be introduced and existing powers extended to tackle unauthorised encampments is good news for our county.

“It also demonstrates that by working together with our rural communities we can make our voices heard.

“We have worked hard with our rural communities and councils across Essex to provide a much more consistent and robust response to handling unauthorised encampments. We have reduced the number of unauthorised encampments in Essex from 229 in 2018 to 142 in 2020.”