DALE Farm travellers threatened with eviction vowed today they were going nowhere as hundreds of supporters marched to the site to give their support.

The travellers declared they "just want the right to stay in our own homes" as Basildon Council plans to begin clearing Dale Farm after a decade-long dispute over unauthorised properties at the former scrapyard.

A combination of travellers, their supporters and human rights groups took part in the noisy but non-violent demonstration from Wickford railway station to a rally at the settlement.

They marched behind a banner which read "No Ethnic Cleansing At Dale Farm". Others held placards and flags which included the slogans "Don't Make Us Part Of The Housing Problem" and "Basildon Council Shame On You".

Officers from Essex Police escorted the protest on its three-mile route as local residents and Saturday afternoon shoppers looked on.

The Dale Farm residents who took part in the march voiced their anger at the evictions, which are due to begin on September 19.

Basildon council plans to begin clearing Dale Farm after a decade-long dispute over unauthorised properties at the former scrapyard.

Although half the site is legal, more than 80 properties have no planning permission and about 400 people are said to be living there illegally.

Today's rally featured speeches from a number of the travellers' supporters, including Labour MEP Richard Howitt.

He told the protesters that he had helped ensure a debate on the issue will take place at the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna, Austria on Thursday.

"Only international pressure can make a difference now," he admitted.

Mr Howitt said after his speech that he wanted Dale Farm to be considered by the EU advisory body because "we have to explore every option right up to the last minute".