A huge party of travellers were ordered to leave their site with just a few hours warning.

Sussex Police served eviction notices on 43 vehicles at Fairfield recreation ground in Burgess Hill.

Officers told dozens of people, many of whom are believed to be related, on Friday at 5pm that they had to move by 9am on Saturday.

The group's advocate, Ann Dean, from Brighton, said they were not in a fit state to go.

She said one man from the group was waiting for a major heart operation while a 12-week-old premature baby not long out of hospital was also at the site.

An order under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice Act cannot legally be made on people whose health could be harmed.

The group claim they had been told earlier on Friday by police the matter was being left to the landowner, Mid Sussex District Council, to deal with and that they would not be moved over the weekend.

Ms Dean said: "I regard it as extremely shocking. It reminds me of Hitler's Germany."

The group moved to the recreation ground, in Fairfield Road, after being evicted from The Triangle leisure centre, in Triangle Way in the town, where they had set up in a car park.

Police had received complaints at the site about sweets being stolen from the centre, quad bikes racing up and down, noise pollution and damage to the height barrier.

Frequent evictions, Ms Dean said, were very damaging to the children's education.

She said the travellers left on Saturday morning to avoid a traumatic eviction which would have upset their 16 children.

But hours later officers told her the group would have been allowed to stay longer to allow for health checks.

Ms Dean, a member of the National Romani Rights Association, has been fighting for travellers' rights since 1993.

She has objected to Local Plans in Sussex which she says do not allocate enough official pitches for them.

Ms Dean said: "People don't like travellers parking right close to them. They don't do that because they want to, it is because there aren't enough proper sites. When there are proper sites, those people will disappear."

Chief Inspector Chris Ball, of Sussex Police, who served the eviction notice on the authority of Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones, said no inspector would be authorised to tell the travellers they could stay.

He added that the welfare of the group was checked at The Triangle, that the man with the heart condition was not told to move and that officers had not been informed about the baby.

Ch Insp Ball said: "It is important to recognise that every citizen has a right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions and a right to respect for private family life. This applies to the settled and travelling communities and it is our responsibility to safeguard those rights.

"We will treat every individual site separately taking into account any welfare commitment and human rights legislation.

"When a travelling camp is set up in an unsuitable location and its presence is seriously disrupting the settled community we will use powers under section 61 of the Criminal Justice Act."

Officers are now reviewing the group's new camp in Jane Murray Way.