A HOMELESS man who has been sleeping rough in York allotments has been evicted by the council.

Allotment owners at Bustardthorpe allotments, in Bishopthorpe Road, today welcomed the eviction - and said it would make the area safer.

City of York Council yesterday won a possession order from York County Court allowing officers to serve a warrant on the trespasser, who has not been named.

A council spokesman said the man had been occupying land illegally on the allotment for about a month and sleeping amid crops in bushes and using sheds as shelter.

When the Evening Press visited the allotments, overlooking York Racecourse, yesterday afternoon, there was no sign of any trespasser or eviction proceedings.

But an allotment owner, who asked not to be named, said she heard reports that a man had been sleeping rough in a shed on the site.

She said: "We had some tea and sugar in our greenhouse that went missing. It might have been stolen, but whoever took it left our tools."

Another pitch owner said: "I've not seen the man, but one woman was frightened because she thought he was following her one time."

Both allotment owners said they thought the man had "hit the road".

The woman added: "We feel safer now that he's gone. We don't want people sleeping on here. It's for people to who have allotments.

"We come here to get away from people."

The council-run Bustardthorpe site has more than 150 plots.

Updated: 10:57 Wednesday, August 18, 2004