TAXPAYERS will have to fork out more than £12,000 after travellers left Bicester Park and Ride in a shocking state for a second time this year.

Council contractors have again had to clear up a sea of rubbish and destruction littering the car park following the latest encampment last week.

Pictures sent in by readers revealed bin bags and rubbish strewn across the car park in Vendee Drive as well as broken bollards, bricks and a discarded rabbit hutch.

The latest occupation, which saw more than 30 caravans take over the park and ride from April 5 until Saturday, was the second invasion this year.

The Bicester Advertiser can now reveal that, following the first invasion in February, car park owners Oxfordshire County Council had to fork out £12,426 on legal fees and clearing-up.

It is not known if it was the same group of travellers who moved in this time.

County spokesman Martin Crabtree said: "The travellers left of their own accord on Saturday and we have contractors on site at the moment cleaning up.

"We are also working with contractors who will be installing new fencing this week."

Mr Crabtree added although the council did not yet know the cost of the latest encampment, previously legal and enforcement fees were £9,540 and the clear-up cost was £2,886.

He also said the council was looking into further security measures.

In February, the first encampment saw the site strewn with bricks and bollards and rubbish bags littered everywhere.

Bicester Mayor Les Sibley, who previously called for action following the first take-over, said the latest mess was 'a lot worse' than before and had knock-on effects on local businesses and residents.

He went on: "We have been caught napping twice now and we need to learn our lesson.

"The park and ride is the frontier of Bicester, the first thing you see when you come into the town.

"Bicester attracts lots of visitors from far and wide – not just Bicester Village but people looking to move to the town as well.

"That can't be the first impression people get, it doesn't help us at all."

During the first encampment, Tesco cut its opening hours. The latest incident saw Stagecoach divert its S5 service to stop serving the park and ride.

Mr Sibley called for 'urgent talks' between local authorities to help combat repeated unauthorised travellers occupations in Oxfordshire.

Bicester Park and Ride is among several car parks which have been invaded over recent months, including Oxford’s Water Eaton Park and Ride and Redbridge on Abingdon Road.

The latest spate included a playing field at Harwell Campus which travellers took over from Saturday to Tuesday.

Concerns have also been raised over animal welfare: following the most recent encampment at Bicester, a dead puppy and two dogs with sores on their skin were reportedly recovered by Doglost Oxfordshire volunteers.

Lisa West, area coordinator for Doglost Oxfordshire, said: "One girl found the little whippet riddled with mange and another lady and her husband managed to gain the trust of a spaniel.

"He was so weak he needed to be lifted.

"She went back to check the site and came across the body of a dear sweet puppy lurcher, laying stretched out and covered in a pink blanket.

"She was in the mud on the other side of the fencing, next to a big pile of rubbish on the park and ride side of the fence."

Miss West said the two other dogs were taken to a vet and were receiving treatment.

A fundraising page has now raised more than £360 to help fund the dogs' care and the cremation of the puppy which volunteers named Twinkle.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "We are aware of concerns for dogs at Bicester Park and Ride and are saddened to hear that one of the dogs has died. The RSPCA takes welfare concerns very seriously and is looking into this."

Mr Sibley added: "Urgent talks need to be a high priority now to see what can be done to stop this happening – not just in our town but with the other park and rides also.

"We also need to give consideration to whether, as a county, we need to provide more land for authorised traveller sites.

"We need to look at whether there needs to be more of these authorised facilities available which doesn't cause disruption to the local community."

There are six permanent council-owned traveller sites in Oxfordshire providing 89 caravan spaces. There are also 21 privately-run sites.

The creation of new sites comes down to each district council in the area.

The Friends, Families and Travellers group – which works on behalf of travellers to protect their right to pursue a nomadic way of life – has said there is a 'chronic national shortage' of traveller sites.

The group's projects manager Michelle Gavin previously said: "The vast majority of gypsies and travellers who are living on unauthorised land are not doing this because they want to.

"Local authorities are responsible for identifying land for gypsy and traveller communities to live on, but the vast majority of local authorities are completely failing to fulfil this duty."