BAILIFFS are to serve notice on gipsies camped at the city's Tredegar House by the end of this week.

The travellers moved on to the Tredegar House last week after they were evicted from the LG site.

The group left a scene of "devastation" at LG with huge piles of litter, broken glass and scrap metal which council officers estimate will cost thousands of pounds to clear up. A local councillor believes that the cost could be as much as £100,000.

The move to the Tredegar House site sparked fears that the travellers would still be there when the Eisteddfod opens at the end of the month when over 150,000 visitors are expected to visit the festival.

Police and Newport council have been working to ensure the group are moved on as quickly as possible.

A council spokeswoman said: "We intend to serve notice very soon, possibly by the end of the week."

The council refused to say how long the length of the notice they were serving on the gipsies would be or where they would move to when it expired.

A spokeswoman said they were not revealing their plan of action for legal reasons.

Previous eviction notices served by the council usually take between a week to ten days to come into effect but the spokeswoman stressed that each case is unique.

The gipsies will either mount a legal challenge to the order, move on of their own accord or be evicted.

Gwent Police are monitoring the site and Inspector James Baker told the Argus that the police role would be to support any action by the council. "The police will be there to support any action if the council decides to move them on," he said.

The police are also investigating whether any prosecutions can be brought as a result of the condition that the LG site was left in.