FOUR members of a travelling family have been warned they will be jailed if they breach an anti-social behaviour order for a second time.

David, Thomas, Richard and Rebbie Smith appeared at Scarborough Magistrates' Court, where they pleaded guilty to two breaches of the order.

They were fined £100 each and given 12 months to pay.

The order, imposed at Pickering Magistrates' Court in August last year, bans them from setting up camp in a ten square mile area of Ryedale, North Yorkshire.

They are also prevented from returning to within a mile of any previously-occupied site within 12 months.

The order was one of the first Asbos to target an entire family unit.

The four were arrested last month and charged with camping on land belonging to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust near Flaxton village on January 17 without the consent of the owner.

On the same date they were camped on a site which they had previously occupied within the past 12 months.

Magistrates warned them that if they breach the conditions on a second occasion, they will be given a custodial sentence.

Fred McManus, the antisocial behaviour co-ordinator for the Safer Ryedale Crime and Disorder Partnership, visits the family on a regular basis to remind them to move on.

Speaking after the case, he said: "Although there may be some disappointment in the community that a custodial sentence was not awarded, the court made it very clear to the defendants that any future breach of the order will result in a prison sentence.

"I shall be working very closely with the police in Ryedale to ensure that the order is not breached. If it is, however, appropriate action will be taken."

The 13-strong Smith family are from the Malton area. They were the subject of repeated complaints to police until the Asbo was imposed. At one point they had 50 horses and various other animals.

Mr McManus said: "They have caused a lot of problems over a long period of time. It needs to be brought home to them that if they breach this order again, there are going to be legal repercussions."