A CAFE owner has found a way to get travellers moved on by police.

Chris Kraszewski is encouraging businesses to shut up shop as police acted quickly to move on an encampment when he closed his doors.

He told The Argus that instead of staying open and battling through a difficult situation, it is more beneficial to close.

Mr Kraszewski was faced with a dilemma when a group of caravans pitched up near his business, Carats Cafe Bar, on Southwick Beach.

An encampment of between ten and 20 caravans pitched up on a council-owned car park outside his establishment last Saturday night.

After considering staying open, Mr Kraszewski said he was told by police that he would be better off closing because officers would be forced to move the group on under a section of the law.

The 44-year-old decided to close and, as a result, the group moved on the following afternoon.

Mr Kraszewski said: “It was really interrupting us – it’s frustrating when you have staff to pay.

Mr Kraszewski said he tried to “deal with it diplomatically” but that travellers “know every rule in the book”.

He said: “They know the law and what they can do when they are dealing with the council. I can understand their predicament – they have to go somewhere.

“It would be handy if residents knew the law themselves. It’s something that every business should look at.”

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “Any reference to closing the cafe would have been in the context of pointing out that in order for Section 61 or 62 of the Public Order Act to apply, enabling police to require removal, certain strict criteria would have to be fulfilled, that is, serious risk to the local community.”

The spokesman was referring to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which states that Section 61, requiring travellers to move, can be enforced if “it can be shown that the presence of the encampment is seriously disrupting the ability of the settled community to make use of facilities or conduct their business”.

Mr Kraszewski said the speed with which the group left voluntarily meant Carats Cafe returned to normal soon afterwards.

He added that if Adur District Council had served its notice – which the authority confirmed varies from seven to ten days – rather than the police eviction, it could have been “catastrophic” for his business.