Travellers fighting to stay on the UK's biggest illegal site - at Dale Farm near Basildon, Essex - won the latest round of their High Court legal battle today.
A judge ruled on Monday afternoon that the travellers were entitled to stay on the site until the court decided on the legality of their proposed removal.
Bailiffs acting for Basildon Council had been due to begin evicting people from the site in on September 19 following a decade long planning dispute.
But the residents have won a series of court injunctions delaying the operation. A final ruling is expected to come on Thursday.
Justice Edwards-Stuart said he had granted the injunction as there were fears the council would "over enforce" the eviction notice and remove structures they were not allowed to.
"This result has come about mainly because the terms of the enforcement notices issued between 2002 and 2004 may not have been sufficiently precisely drawn," he said.
Basildon Council has estimated the combined cost of the eviction and police operation to be £18 million.