School staff had to arrange alternative drop-off points for pupils and families this morning after a car park was “inhabited”.

Caravans, understood to belong to Traveller families, were reported at a separate parking facility near the Victory Academy in Chatham over the weekend.

But the occupants had moved on by the time students at the secondary school in Magpie Hall Road arrived this morning.

A spokesman for the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs the academy, said: ”The car park, which is a shared facility and separate from the secure school site, was inhabited by members of the public over the weekend.

“We worked with the relevant authorities and all those on the site had left it by 9am this morning.

“The health and safety of our pupils is always our top priority so as a precautionary measure we arranged an alternative drop-off system this morning for pupils and their families and had additional staff present to support them.

“We can confirm the school day was unaffected and is continuing as normal.”