RESIDENTS in Bentley fear they may have a lengthy fight on their hands to evict a group of travellers who bought land in their village and have now moved onto it.
Last Friday, numerous vans, a large, white transportable home, portable toilets and a digger were spotted on a two-acre plot adjacent to the sewage works and overlooking the slip road to the village, off the south-bound carriageway of the A31.
A large fence, shielding the camp from the road, and two modular homes - dwellings that are larger than mobile homes and have to be transported on flat-bed trucks as they do not have the capacity to be towed - are now in evidence on the site.
It is thought the digger has dug a system of trenches for what could be sanitation or water purposes.
Brian Dickinson, district councillor for Binsted and Bentley, said that local residents are "extremely anxious at this unauthorised occupation".
"Apparently, the position is that they own the land, but are now willy-nilly putting things on site, like water mains-pipes," he said.
"There is a strong sentiment in the village that something has to be done," he continued, revealing that some "hot heads" among Bentley's inhabitants are already considering rectifying the problem themselves.
Similar sentiments were echoed by David Asher, chairman for Bentley Parish Council. "The parish council is as concerned as everyone in Bentley, in light of recent events covered in the national news," he said.
"As far as I'm concerned, East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) has got it in hand, and we are awaiting the outcome."
Mr Asher said that the parish council did have faith in the effectiveness of district council powers, and enforcement officers' ability to act, in these situations, but warned: "We shall push them very hard."
He was aware, however, that the process "might take some time".
But it appears EHDC has already taken decisive action.
"The council became aware of the placing of mobile homes and associated earthwork development on land adjacent to Bentley Sewage Works on the morning of October 29 2004," said Tom Pollock, a member of EHDC's legal services team, in a statement to The Herald.
"The council obtained an injunction without notice to the defendants on the same day. The injunction order prohibits the development.
"The injunction will be considered at a full hearing on November 5. There will be further legal argument and the court will decide whether or not to uphold the injunction."
Mr Pollock said that in normal circumstances a notice would have to be given to travellers, formally telling them that an injunction was to be obtained.
The situation in Bentley, however, was deemed "so urgent" that this process has been bypassed.
"The situation is being closely monitored by the council's planning enforcement team," he continued. "If the injunction is breached, committal proceedings may be brought against the defendants. This could lead to their imprisonment for contempt of court."
Mr Pollock confirmed that members of the council's enforcement team have already visited the site and that "documents have been served" to those camping there.
If the travellers are found guilty of being in contempt of court, a new cycle of proceedings will begin that could end in their imprisonment.
The Herald has learned that the plot being developed was once owned by a property developer from the Farnham area.
David Rumsey, who owns Pelhams, the estate agency which acted on behalf of the landowner, said: "I never met the person who bought it. Everything like this is done at arm's length, so you can't discriminate. We didn't show the people, all we did was say, 'there's the land, have a look at it'."
The buyer Mr Rumsey spoke to while negotiating the sale of the land - which is considered "grazing land" and so cannot be developed - "sounded straight forward on the phone" and confirmed that the land would indeed only be used for grazing purposes. The mystery buyer even made a point of saying he owned "a couple of horses".
An offer in excess of £30,000 was received for the land, a substantial figure considering that it is approximately only two acres in size, is crossed by a footpath and is strewn with rubble dating back to the construction of the Bentley by-pass.
A negotiator at Keats Marshall Bendall, an Alton-based estate agent, said that grazing land of this type would usually sell for roughly £5-6000 an acre, a third of the price the Bentley plot was purchased for.
"The owner wanted it sold," said Mr Rumsey. "It was just a bit of agricultural land. He had been turned down for some stables on it and as far as he's concerned, we sold it off as a bit of grazing/agricultural land with no chance of putting stables on.
"I was surprised to see what had happened there. Certain people are buying bits of land and are going in overnight and whacking in caravans and mobile homes and saying, 'Get us off'."
"The owner had no idea he was selling to travellers," Mr Rumsey concluded. "I imagine he'd go ballistic at this."
The vendor of the land was unavailable for comment.
Derek Gilbert, a Bentley resident of 44 years, said that those in the village are "disgusted" by the situation.
Pointing toward similar incidences elsewhere in the country, Mr Gilbert stressed that the over-riding worry among the villagers is the effect the travellers will have on local house prices.
"We can't believe this is happening, and that no one is doing anything," he said. "But I suppose they can't do anything."
The scene in Bentley is one that has been replicating itself across the country in recent months.
Many villages are falling victim to travellers who buy up land for inflated prices and then move in overnight, with the knowledge that it can take years for local councils to evict them.
Only this week, 40 residents in a village in Kent raised £147,000 between them to buy a seven-acre plot of land to stop travellers buying up the space and then moving in.
As with the plot in Bentley, the land, which was only worth around £30,000, was within the Green Belt and designated as "grazing land" only, meaning that development of any kind was illegal.
And last Friday, villagers in Newdigate, Surrey, clubbed together to pay £50,000 for a field only one acre in size.
The hearing of the Bentley travellers will take place today (Friday) at Southampton.