ANGRY residents have found large amounts of rubbish after travellers left Western Lawns in Hove on Monday.

Pictures show bottles and litter strewn across the grass, as well as dirty nappies.

Nick Davis, owner of Spitfire Cafe near the lawns in Hove, said that the litter left behind hurt his business.

“We’ve had this problem for years, I’ve been here over fifteen years and it’s the same every time.

“They always leave a mess. Yesterday I saw bags of rubbish, cans, personal sanitary products.

“They cause other problems too. Some of them have been verbally abusive to me, and they have intimidated me and my customers.

“There’s also a real problem with kids riding their bikes dangerously quickly along the front.”

He said other businesses in the area had suffered as well.

“The Princes Marine Hotel is right by these lawns, and they’ve had issues too.

“Residents have spoken to me about it and they all feel the same way.”

“I don’t know why the council can’t do something about the problem and prevent them access to the lawns.

“I think that the council needs to look at closing them overnight.”

Another Hove resident who asked not to be named, confirmed large amounts of litter were left on the lawns.

He said: “They have left behind mounds of litter including dirty nappies used sanitary towels human and dog waste.

“This morning there was a rat spotted running from the rubbish to the nearby hedge.”

He said that although the rubbish had been left in bags overnight, it appeared that animals had broken into the bags and scattered it around.

He asked: “For how long will this council allow this to happen, putting the health of our children at risk?”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesperson said: “The travellers have now left the site and any litter left behind has been cleared.

“We will be taking action to prevent any further encampments on Hove Lawns by filling gaps in the bollards around the site’s perimeter.”

On their website, Brighton Council website states a commitment to reducing the number of unauthorised encampments in the city through the creation of more managed and permanent sites for travellers.

In a separate incident, travellers were also parked their caravans in Southwick.

A spokesman for Adur District Council said: “We were alerted to a group of about ten caravans moving onto Southwick Green last night.

“We are liaising with police and other partners regarding the group’s unauthorised occupation of the site and have begun the process to seek their eviction from the site.”