PEOPLE living in their vehicles at a Newquay car park have been served with eviction notices.

Cornwall Council officers served notice to the occupants of 31 vans at Towan Headland car park to vacate the site by Friday, July 17 (today) at 4pm.

If the vanlifers do not obey the notice the council can attend Truro Magistrates Court to get the right to remove them.

The officers allegedly received abuse when they taped the direction to leave notices on some of the vehicles

The council decided to take action after a number of residents complained vanlifers annually turn the car park overlooking Little Fistral Beach into an encampment during the summer. Some residents have been put off visiting the beauty spot following reports of antisocial behaviour there.

The council said it is also keen to take action against vanlifers because they have been covering their number plates, which has prevented them from receiving parking penalty notices. Civil parking officers reportedly are not permitted to uncover the registration plates to identify the vehicle and issue a parking ticket.

Newquay central Cornwall councillor Joanna Kenny said: “I’ve been contacted by many concerned residents about the situation at the Towan car park over the last few weeks and have only been able to ask them to be patient.

“I do understand their frustration when the rules of the car park are perfectly clear and yet were obviously being abused. But the legal implications when this sort of action is taken by a local authority are very complex and I believe the Council right to take their time and get everything right.

“Pleasing that on the whole, it went peacefully; our people both in Cornwall Council and in Newquay Town Council are not employed to take personal abuse, verbal threats or worse so I support the bringing in of external experts in security who, protected by their impressive physical presence, did a thoroughly professional job.”

The ‘Pentire Van Owners Association’ has been launched on Facebook following the council taking action against the vanlifers at Towan Headland car park.

A spokesperson said: “By now, everyone in the local area has seen the viral video of one guy shouting at a bailiff down at Little Fistral.

“Let’s be real: it was out of order. But since when does the action of one frustrated individual define an entire community?

“We’ve had enough of the one-sided narrative. That is why we have officially formed the Pentire Van Owners Association

“We are stepping up to deal with this negative press head-on, clear our names, and bring some genuine positivity back to Pentire. If you are tired of the finger-pointing, want to get both sides of the story, and want to see what our community is actually doing. (Hint we're cleaning beaches and raising money for local causes, not picking fights), then join up.”

Video by Katrina Beddoe.