PILES of rubbish have been left scattered in hedgerows at the site of an illegal camp in Woolwell.

Cannisters of compressed gas, petrol cans, prams and children's bikes are among the junk found dumped after a group of travellers left the plot in Woolwell yesterday.

Plymouth City Council says the mess, which includes more than 20 bags of rubbish and dozens of empty bottles of alcohol, will cost hundreds of pounds to clear up.

Around 10 caravans pitched up at a patch of grass near the Tesco supermarket on Sunday — but the cavalcade left yesterday afternoon after the council threatened them with eviction.

"We are expecting the clean up of this site to cost in the region of £670 and our staff will be at the site tomorrow," said a spokeswoman for the council.

"We currently spend around £130,000 a year on cleaning up unauthorised encampments."

Despite the huge amount of rubbish left in their wake, one local councillor is pleased to have been able to move the Gypsies off the site.

"This is a bit of good news for Plymouth, especially because we do not have to go through the courts to get an eviction notice," said Conservative councillor Michael Foster who is running for re-election in the Moor View ward.

He said a member of staff from the council's social inclusion department met with the travellers and it was decided they would leave the area.

It is believed the group, which includes families with young children, has moved on to other areas in the South West, including Cornwall.

"We are gradually trying to stop them from going to sites that they have been to before," said Mr Foster.

He said measures that could be put in place at the Woolwell site include embedding large stone boulders into the grass to stop caravans and other vehicles pitching up.

Speaking to The Herald on Monday, one of the travellers said some of the cavalcade were applying for housing in the city.

"Half of us are putting in for a house but it takes ages," she said.

"I would like to stay in Plymouth."

The president of The Gypsy Council, Hughie Smith, said the solution to illegal encampments was not through moving people along but with legal sites.

"The Government itself has said it is pointless moving families outside an area to become a problem somewhere else," he said.

"I can understand the frustration of people when they do not have a legal site."

Plans for a permanent Gypsy site at Efford Warren were stalled after a £1.3million bid for funding was refused by the Government.

The council is now in discussion with the Homes and Communities Agency over the way forward.