UNMARKED trucks are being used to deliver hardcore to a traveller site after a High Court injunction clamped down on companies previously involved in an illegal expansion.

A resident, who did not want to be named, told how he saw “numerous” unmarked vehicles carrying tarmac to the two-acre field in Hovefields Avenue, Wickford - which has been dubbed ‘Dale Farm Mark II’ - yesterday.

He said: “They’re just ignoring the law entirely.

“Previously there were between about three to five companies delivering surface materials, but now they’re just unmarked trucks. I don’t know if they’re doing it themselves.”

Earlier this week Basildon Council warned that companies and drivers who assist in deliveries materials to sites which are subject to High Court injunctions could face legal action.

Injunctions are currently in place banning any further development at Silva Lodge Kennels and land west of Hovefields Avenue, Wickford.

Basildon Council has written to contractors who have reportedly been involved in the delivery of building materials in recent months.

The eyewitness added: “I get on with the travellers really well.

“A lot of people are upset because they brought house prices down considerably. One £350,000 house on the road recently sold for just £150,000 - you can see why people are upset.

“But they’re breaking the law here. I think the council have acted extremely swiftly this time around.”

Chris Walsh, 36, whose parents David and Jill live in Hovefields Avenue, disagrees - labelling Basildon Council a “soft touch.”

He added: “We told the council eight months ago about this. Why weren’t the letters sent to these companies back then?

“One of the gruelling things is that it could have been stopped before hundreds of tonnes of hardcore was laid.”

A Basildon spokesman said: “When the council received reports of vehicles delivering materials to the Hovefields Avenue area in autumn 2016, it was already engaged in enforcement activities which resulted in successful applications for High Court injunctions prohibiting development.

“The decision to issue a warning to contractors this month was an exceptional step which was deemed appropriate due to the ongoing and repeated breaches of the existing injunctions.

“Due to the high volume of correspondence addressed to the chief executive, it is not possible for him to respond to all enquiries personally.