TRAVELLERS will no longer be able to set up camp on a disused Irvine site after council bosses put up padlocked gates, blocking unauthorised access.

In June an illegal encampment set up temporary home in the old BT Exchange building in Shewalton Road, sparking outrage from local residents.

At the time residents complained about the noise and mess the travellers were making and claimed they were 'shouting, bawling and running generators past 2am'.

Some householders claimed travellers were making a nuisance of themselves by 'tearing up and down the road in their cars, leaving skid marks' and one resident even claimed they had seen someone trying to break in to the building using a crowbar.

After facing furious opposition to their settlement the campers moved on after only a week - but locals demanded the site be made secure to prevent further visits.

Now North Ayrshire Council have secured the site by installing metal gates which are padlocked and surrounded by large rocks to prevent illegal accessare made to gain unauthorised access to this particular site."