Dozens of Conservative MPs including several former Cabinet ministers are demanding that the Government makes trespassing a criminal offence to stop travellers moving onto private land.

The MPs, led by Mark Francois and John Baron, have written to Theresa May and Housing Secretary James Brokenshire urging them to make “acts of deliberate trespass a criminal offence”.

They say that people “have a right to expect that the law should be applied equally and fairly to all and they want to see the authorities given additional powers to deal with unauthorised encampments, which are an increasing problem, particularly in the spring and summer months”.

The news has emerged days after a police force in Surrey failed to take action to remove a group of travellers who had set up camp illegally in a park in Thames Ditton.

The group were eventually evicted by the local council after three days, but left behind significant damage and mess, including "rutted" football pitches from drag racing cars, two dogs, and a water-logged cricket pitch, forcing this weekend's games to be cancelled.

The council also hired a specialist cleaning company to carry out a "cleanse" of the the park's playground following their stay.