GIPSIES have enraged business people by invading car parks on commercial estates at Clifton Moor, York.

At least 20 caravans have parked in the Lysander Close area and one firm claims to have lost the prospect of three new jobs as a result of the mess, noise and disruption.

Businesses are now calling for action from City of York Council's environmental health department, claiming that:

*their windows have been smeared with excrement;

* open land is being used as a toilet;

*rubbish and shredded paper are being thrown from refuse bags;

*children are endangering themselves by playing in the car parks;

*four-letter abuse is being hurled at them by children;

*a now-empty building owned by the TSB has been gutted.

Bill Heath, chairman of the Clifton Moor Association said: "They return to our estate time and again. I've complained to City of York Council and environmental health officials and even though some gipsies are using open ground as toilets the health people say that they can do nothing."

Keith Emmerson, office manager of Lynx automotive systems in Lysander Close, said his proposal to extend training services at their offices, which would have meant hiring three trainers, was turned down by his new managing director.

"He said he couldn't see how he could invite firms to send people for training here in the midst of this chaos."

Mike Stampfer, managing director of Suomi print and design, pointed to excrement smears on the ground floor window of his offices at Ebor House and said: "We've had enough. The travellers use the land outside here as a toilet and children delight in the insult of smearing our window panes."

Tax expert Mr Flowers, who has complained to York MP Hugh Bayley, said: "It's ridiculous. We hardly get any work done because we are constantly on the lookout to see if anything is being done that we should know about."

Michael Lewis, of surveyors Conrad Ritblat, which represents British Land, owner of most of the car park sites said: "We have already taken out a court order to have caravans removed from another site near Lysander Close. We are now proposing extensive preventative works, including telescopic security gates."

The gipsies complain that they have nowhere else to go. One of the caravanners, Louise Smith, a 22-year-old single mother of three, whose views were echoed by two other travellers, said: "Tell us where to go next and we will. There is no room at any of York's official gipsy sites. There should be more. We are not responsible for the excrement-smearing or the mess which is disgraceful."

Richard Haswell, of City of York Council, said he would visit the site but there was not much that he could legally do, because the council could only act on land which it owned.

"We encourage private landowners to erect bollards and gates," he said.

He said the council took its responsibility towards itinerants more seriously than most other local authorities, but its three parks for them, in Osbaldwick, James Street and Green Lane, Clifton were full.

"I believe that there are vacancies, though, at Malton," added Mr Haswell.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.