A TRAVELLER accused of blocking deliveries to a Winchester business park is damaging its tenants' reputations, companies have warned.

At least one firm will consider quitting Leyland Park, Colden Common, if council chiefs don't clamp down on Mitchell Mills amid allegations he dumped wrecked vehicles on a narrow access road.

They say the 36-year-old's bid to avoid eviction is stopping lorries and vans from using Nob's Crook.

It has forced some companies to cancel meetings, make staff work from home or travel miles to collect packages themselves.

Earlier this month bailiffs accompanied by police tried to evict Mr Mills from nearby waste ground but were thwarted when he moved his caravan onto adjacent land.

One commercial tenant said they would leave Leyland Park if the issue isn't fixed "in the long term".

Asking for his firm not to be named, he added: "It's just like Mad Max, bringing a lot of vehicles onto site to cause maximum disruption.

"We can't get lorries to deliver to our offices. If there was a fire, the firefighters and ambulance would struggle to get through. This has unfortunately seemed to take so long to take through normal legal challenges, which is the preferred way of doing it.

"No one seems to be owning up to the responsibilities of it. We're powerless to do anything about it."

He added: "If it's going to be a prolonged problem, then it's destroying the credibility of the businesses that are operating."

The issue has forced insurance software firm Transactor to cancel meetings with clients who couldn't reach the office.

"It's not good for our reputation, when we have to come through and you never know whether you will be able to go past or not, and how it looks to our clients," a representative said. "It has been a disruption."

Another company, Scientific Instrument Centre, left Leyland Park in January for reasons unknown. The company declined to discuss the matter.

Mr Mills has been locked in disputes with landowner Anna Gaillard since before Christmas.

In a letter to police and Winchester City Council, Ms Gaillard said: "I have gone through the process of the law at great expense and have achieved almost nothing.

"No one can say I have not made an effort. The squatter, on the other hand, seems to be completely bulletproof."

Ward councillor Richard Izard said he was "very concerned" for businesses whose deliveries are affected.