A group of nine travelling families have moved on to Oxford's Osney Mead Industrial Estate, setting up camp on the forecourts of empty units.

The travellers arrived on the estate - off Botley Road and less than a mile from the city centre - over the weekend.

They have put their cars and caravans in parking bays and on the forecourts of two empty units - formerly occupied by electrical suppliers Comet and Oxford Instruments.

The estate, also home to Newsquest Oxfordshire, publishers of the Oxford Mail, is private land with each company owning the freehold of its plot.

Oxford police said they had received several calls about the travellers and had visited the site.

A spokesman said that Oxford Instruments had informed police they intended to take legal action, if necessary, to move the travellers off the site, which they still own.

She said: "We only have certain powers and have advised the travellers of the legal situation."

She added that police powers were limited because the land was not public property and police would only step in if any court order granted to force the travellers to leave was ignored.

One traveller at the Oxford Instruments car park confirmed that the police had visited them, but said: "It's no problem, because we're going anyway."

The man, who declined to give his name, said he and his brother carried out tree surgery, and were on their way from Birmingham to Dover in Kent, looking for work.

Another man, parked on the forecourt of the former Comet warehouse further along the road, refused to discuss the encampment.

"It's not your property, so what's it going to do with you?" he said.

Asked how long they intended to stay on site, he said: "We'll be here 12 months if we want to."

A spokesman for Oxford City Council said they would not get involved as the estate was private land.