Goring Gap travellers: Cost and scale of clean-up revealed after group leaves

A convoy of around a dozen caravans and motorhomes arrived on the green space between Thursday (April 22) and the weekend.

After being handed eviction notices by West Sussex County Council the group left on Tuesday of their own volition.

Clean-up crews from Worthing Borough Council arrived shortly after and, according to a council spokesman, it took 20 members of staff two hours to clear the debris left behind.

The spokesman said six lorry loads of rubbish had to be removed – one filled with rubble and five more filled with gas bottles, green waste and other assorted waste.

A sweeper also had to be deployed on the grass, a popular spot for families during sunny days, to clear all the broken glass and cigarettes.

The total cost of the cleaning is estimated to be £1,300, the spokesman said.

Gypsies and travellers travel the country as part of a nomadic way of life.

As with any other individual, all gypsies and travellers have rights under the 1998 Human Rights Act.

Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are also protected against discrimination on the basis of their ethnic origins under the 2010 Equalities Act.

In 2014, Amnesty International estimated there were 200,000-300,000 Gypsy and Irish Travellers in the UK.