Retractable bollards should be installed at Watford parks to prevent traveller break-ins, according to one mayoral hopeful.

George Jabbour, the Conservative candidate hoping to succeed incumbent mayor Dorothy Thornhill, made the comments as travellers pitched up in Radlett Road Playing Fields on Thursday – the second such incursion in as many weeks.

Shortly after the first break-in, Mr Jabbour visited the rugby club to see a new padlock and welded box being installed to prevent further intrusions onto the pitch.

However it seems this has not stopped travellers from entering the adjacent fields next to the multi-use games area.

“We must consider installing retractable bollards outside our parks as these provide a cheaper long-term answer than the various enforcement and clearing costs that the taxpayer is incurring,” said Mr Jabbour.

“I visited Watford Rugby Club shortly after the travellers had moved there. I saw that Watford Borough Council had posted a notice asking the travellers to leave by a specific date and time. It was well after the deadline had passed that the travellers left the site.

“By ensuring that enforcement is effective, more people would take the law seriously. In addition, we must be more persistent in recovering the costs incurred by the community and make more use of the registration numbers of the cars that were involved in causing damage to our local assets.”

Mr Jabbour echoed the sentiments of Mayor Thornhill, who recently said that building more permanent traveller sites was not the solution to the increasing traveller frequency in the area.

He added: “There was a recent suggestion that more permanent campsites for travellers should be built in Watford. I disagree with this idea. 

“While more sites for travellers might be suitable for other parts of Hertfordshire or other counties, it is not the right solution for a borough the size of Watford.”