TRAVELLERS at Coaley Peak are back - and this time they say they intend to stay.

Around twenty families have just returned to the well known beauty spot near Nympsfield.

And on Monday they told the SNJ that they will not be moved.

Gloucestershire County Council had hoped to prevent the travellers return by blocking the route to part of the picnic site with a low metal barrier and a large mound of gravel.

But the travellers have made use of a side entrance off the B4066 to move in over 40 camper vans, coaches and cars.

And they have made it clear they are no longer prepared to be pushed around.

"No-one was able to use the land anyway," said one of the travellers known only as Stewart.

"The county council have made this land redundant by shutting it off so why not let us stay here.

"Our kids go to school nearby and we have nowhere else to go."

"I like being on the move," said fellow traveller Owen.

"But sitting on the side of roads with kids and animals is no good." Stewart, whose three children attend a local school added: "We tried playing it their way last year. We offered to pay the county council rent but they said 'on your bike'.

"We got a bad name for leaving the place untidy. But we had cleaned up and we arranged for the two cars to be towed away but the council came early and barred the site off."

"They told us we were stopping half a million visitors coming here when they kicked us off," added Owen.

"But then they made it impossible for anyone to visit here."

For more on this story and more, see this week's Stroud News & Journal