Ways to prevent travellers from setting up camp in parks across Ealing are being looked at by the council.

The move comes after a number of caravans have been able to move onto green spaces in the borough, at times taking weeks until being moved on.

Ealing Council has said it has streamlined its procedures to allow for quicker removal of travellers on its land, and is looking into options to stop them from setting up camp.

A spokeswoman for Ealing council said: “Over the past four/five months we have been streamlining procedures dramatically to allow us to act a lot faster to authorise notices.

“It may take a week and in some cases within 24 hours.

“We are continuing to look into other options that we can put in place to make them less accessible to vehicles.

“It is common land so cannot simply be cut off.”

The council was able to see off caravans within 24 hours following the recent invasion by travellers on Norwood Green in Southall on Friday, as they were in breach of an existing notice.

Turning to residents' calls for protective measures such as installing bollards, the council says this type of action won't work as it prevents anyone from accessing the site, including themselves, who need to be able to enter the grounds.

At this stage the council will not reveal the options being looked into or a timeline for when it wants protective measures in place.

In August, an enforcement notice saw more than 20 caravans evicted from Ealing Common after two weeks.

Prior to this, they had camped at Norwood Green , forcing the closure of the annual village fair in July.

Elsewhere in the borough, around 40 travellers moved into Oldfield Lane in Greenford , also in July.