FURIOUS Petersfield town councillors are threatening to boycott a secret meeting to discuss what can be done to protect town council land from travellers.

The meeting has been called by town mayor Mary Vincent after travellers left a trail of rubbish and filth on The Heath and in other parts of Petersfield last week.

But some councillors are angry that the meeting, scheduled for Monday at 7 pm in the council chamber, is to be held behind closed doors.

They believe townspeople should be made aware of the problems left by the travellers and the cost to taxpayers of cleaning it up.

They also want the chance to explain publicly which authorities are responsible for taking action against travellers, and to let residents know that measures are being taken to protect the town in future.

Chris Jenner told the meeting: ÒI have no problems with saying what I think about these parasites in public and if the meeting is to be confidential I will give my apologies now.Ó

Brian Keefe told councillors he would not take part in any debate which was held in secret. He said a working party had already looked into the problem two years ago and made a range of recommendations.

ÒI want this meeting to be held in public to let the people of Petersfield know where the problem lies. It is national government which is at fault. It is important that this petard is not hung around our necks because it is not our responsibility. We know itÕs going to be expensive to clean up and the cost will be borne by the people of this town,Ó he said.

He added: ÒI will not take part in any debate which is not held in public.Ó

Katie Pitt told the meeting she believed that members of the public should be told how much money it was going to cost to clean up after the travellers.

And Elsa Bulmer said she could not see why the meeting had to be held in secret.

But George Watkinson told the meeting he believed it would be better to discuss the matter privately before taking it to full council.

ÒI would much rather get our act together and then come back to full council,Ó he told the meeting.

It would be foolish, said Phil Humphries, to hold the meeting in public Òand advertise the preventative measures we are planning to take.Ó

John Crowhurst threw his weight behind the town mayor, telling her: ÒI support you down to the ground, this meeting has to be in private.Ó

But he warned: ÒIt is very difficult to plan against people who are equipped with chain saws, generators and metal cutting equipment and keep them out of our ground.Ó

The travellers who had been camping on The Heath for two weeks left on Sunday morning. They were believed to be heading for the New Forest.