IRISH travellers who settled on a Droitwich Spa paddock have finally moved on - to the relief of two town councillors.

After days of speculation as to when the families would leave the site off the A38, the caravans and trailers disappeared on Wednesday night.

The news pleased Cllr Andrew Christian-Brookes (Con-Lovett and Claines) who has campaigned over the last two weeks to remove them from the land owned by the Chateau Impney.

He said: "These Irish travellers give ordinary gypsies a bad name.

"Not only did the owners of the Chateau Impney have to fork out for the expense of a court order but now they have the degradation of cleaning up their filthy waste."

Cllr Judy Pearce (Con-Dodderhill) was also disgusted by the rubbish left by the travellers.

She said: "It comes as no surprise to me the travellers decided to move on as they were due to stand in court last Thursday.

"The problem is not so much that these people come onto the land and ruin the hay. At a push people could accept that but it is all the waste they leave behind.

"They could have easily taken it down to a rubbish tip before they left. It is just bad manners."

She added that more support was needed from the police to prevent the same situation arising in the future.

The Chateau Impney again declined to comment further on the matter.

by LISA HERITAGE