FREEPORT bosses have said they will explore ways of protecting the centre from travellers after another group pitched up on the shopping centre's car park.

A large group of at least 12 caravans moved onto the land, near to Braintree Swimming and Fitness, at some time on Tuesday evening.

One of the travellers told The Times the group had stopped off on their back to Chelmsford after going to a child's funeral in Langford.

The man, who asked not to be named, also said that the group were planning to leave on Thursday but would go earlier if directed to.

The caravans were served an eviction notice on Thursday morning and left by lunchtime the same day.

Large encampments have previously made homes for themselves before at the shopping centre in both 2014 and 2015.

A spokesman for Freeport said: "We are very pleased that the travellers which parked in the Freeport Braintree car park were able to be moved on within 24-hours, and we’d like to thank Essex Police and eviction officers for helping is achieve this successful outcome swiftly and peacefully.

"We’ve carried out a thorough clean of the area, and things are now back to normal.

"We will continue to work in partnership with Essex Police and other stakeholders to explore ways of preventing this happening in the future.”

Braintree Freeport offers six hours free parking to customers in the area with penalties after.