Gipsies have been banned from setting up illegal campsites across an entire town after a landmark High Court ruling . Harlow Council and Essex County Council were granted the interim injunction after Harlow , Essex , was besieged by travellers illegally camping on cycle paths , highway verges and car parks . The ban protects 454 'parcels ' of land across the town - including parks , playgrounds and schools - and is believed to be 'unprecedented ' in its scale . Besieged : Travellers camped along the side of a road in Harlow , Essex , last year . Gipsies have been banned from setting up illegal campsites across the entire town after a landmark ruling at the High Court yesterday . Ban : The injunction protects 454 'parcels ' of land across the town - including parks , playgrounds and schools - and is believed to be 'unprecedented ' in its scale . Above , one travellers ' camp in the town last year . In total , the areas covered by the ban account for a third of the land in Harlow , according to a spokesman for the council . Gipsies have been moved from illegal encampments in the town - which is just 25 miles from Dale Farm , formerly the site Europe 's largest traveller camp - on 109 occasions since October 2013 . The temporary injunction will mean anyone illegally camping in Harlow could be fined or imprisoned for contempt of court . It will remain in place until a full hearing later this year . The order was served to travellers who were part of an unauthorised camp at Horsecroft Place this morning . The group has since moved on from the site , a spokesman at Harlow Council said . Injunction papers will also be displayed on the 454 parcels of land over the coming days . The ban applies to 35 named travellers , all of whom have now left the town , and will also protect land from encampments by 'persons unknown ' . Two legal traveller sites in the town , with a total of 44 plots , which will be unaffected by the ruling . Harlow Council said although injunctions had been granted in other areas of the country , it believed no ban covering an entire town had ever been applied for and granted . 'Blighted ' : Gipsies have been moved from illegal campsites in the town on 109 separate occasions since October 2013 . Above , police attend one illegal site that was set up on a cycle path in the town last year . 'Unprecedented ' : Harlow Council said although injunctions had been granted in other areas of the country , it believed no ban on this scale had ever been applied for and granted . Above , an illegal site pictured last year . Last year , Leeds City Council successfully applied for an injunction protecting six 'environmentally sensitive ' areas of land in the city . And it was reported in September that Coventry City Council was seeking a 'blanket ' injunction covering the whole city . The ruling by Mrs Justice Patterson at the High Court yesterday was welcomed by Robert Halfon , MP for Harlow , who described it as a 'major step forward in ridding the town of this blight . ' Harlow Council leader , Jon Clempner , said : 'The town has had enough and we needed to resolve this situation with a long term solution to protect land now and in the future . 'An injunction , which covers a piece of land here and there was never going to work , so we had to look at a something which has never been done before and is town-wide . 'Months and months of detailed preparation backed up with a catalogue of community concerns meant we had a very strong case that could be put forward to the judge . 'It is not - and never has been - about persecuting any particular group of people or their way of life . 'This situation has really tested the patience of the whole community and we need to end this cat-and-mouse game which is being played . 'Seeking a High Court injunction of this size and scale takes time and requires a huge amount of preparation to get it right especially when it has never been done anywhere before . ' Nearby : Harlow is just 25 miles from Dale Farm , pictured , formerly Europe 's largest traveller camp . Evicted : Violence erupted when gipsies were removed from the illegal site in Basildon , Essex in October 2011 . But the decision has been slammed by traveller leaders . A spokesman for the Gypsy Council said : 'Unauthorised encampments are a reaction to lack of provision by local authorities . 'What 's to stop the government from applying for an injunction for the whole country and managing to totally wipe out a way of life ? ' Harlow stands less than 25 miles from Europe 's former largest illegal traveller site , Dale Farm , in Basildon , Essex . Basildon Borough Council spent more than £7 million of taxpayers ' money on a controversial eviction of the site in October 2011 following a 10-year legal battle .
Travellers banned from setting up illegal campsites in Essex , Harlow . Injunction granted yesterday covers 454 'parcels ' of land across the town . If gipsies do settle on sites in the future they could be fined or imprisoned . Believed to be first time such a ban has been applied to an entire town .