Councillors approved a motion to criminalise unauthorised traveller pitches on Thursday.

Ukip Councillor Tim Aker put forward the motion at Thursday’s full council meeting to write to government to urge them to “make unauthorised traveller pitches and unauthorised events a criminal offence.”

MEP Tim Aker said: “This needs to be a national priority, if the legislation is not tightened up, the same issues will crop up over and over again.

“The government has made it a criminal offence to squat - surely extending the same consideration to travellers' sites can be done?”

Mr Aker amended the motion before voting to remove the words ‘unauthorised events’.

Councillor Russell Cherry said he would be supporting the motion to support the people of Thurrock, not people nationally.

He said: “There needs to be one simple act the travellers understand and police understand.

“If I was to get a campervan, I would have to join something like the Caravan and Motorists Club to be legal, I wouldn’t expect to be able to pull up on a bit of civic land and treat it the way it’s treated.

“If you want to move around the country, you go onto a registered camping site and you pay your way. You don’t expect the taxpayer to clean up after you.

“Chadwell Hill has a £6,000 bill, and that happens every year now.”

Councillor Mark Coxshall said he would be voting against the motion.

He said: “It is a disgraceful attitude, because it is picking on one group.

"Next motion I expect Ukip to bring in is let's write to government to ban the burkha. If you start picking on groups, and pick them off and pick them off, where do we end up?”

Councillor Terry Piccolo said he also would not be supporting the motion as national government had far more important things to be doing.

He said: “Councillor Gledhill has already stated at the beginning of this meeting that we have now get a very effective policy of moving travellers on as soon as there is a problem.

“It’s not so much we need new laws, we just need to carry our activities forward and everybody to be vigilant to report travellers so we can act decisively.”

Councillors voted two thirds in favour of the motion, and one third against.