HOMELESS people who have been using The Rye as a camp site face being booted off after complaints from park-users.

Adam Wolstenholme and Sharon Strange pitched a tent on the popular High Wycombe park because they have nowhere else to live and say they are desperate for shelter.

But the two friends, who have been camping with Sharon's boyfriend Peter Thomson since last Sunday, are bracing themselves for eviction as council chiefs at Wycombe look to enforce the law.

Mr Wolstenholme, 32, said: "All we are trying to do is get a roof over our heads so we can carry on with our lives. We don't want to be living like this but we have nowhere else to go. We are desperate."

Mr Wolstenholme and Miss Strange, 29, who are both out of work, were originally squatting at a derelict building in Amersham Hill, High Wycombe, but were forced out leaving them with nowhere to stay.

Mr Thomson, who lives with his parents in Marlow Bottom, brought his eight-man tent down to The Rye on Sunday and pitched it behind trees close to the river.

"Two police officers came down on Tuesday and said they didn't have a problem with us being here, but then the council turned up telling us we couldn't stay," he said.

According to Mr Thomson, 33, the group were handed a letter telling them they had breached "bye law 13" which prohibits them from erecting a tent on that site.

A spokesman from the district council said they had received "numerous complaints" about the camp and urged the pair to contact the housing department.

"The bye laws are in place to protect The Rye and to ensure that it remains an enjoyable, safe environment for the whole community. It is not a camp site," she added.