Police were called to a nature reserve so workmen could dismantle an illegal encampment by a group of 30 people on council land.

The encampment was made on a plot on Whitehawk Hill, Whitehawk, Brighton, last year and has since sparked a bitter row between its creators and Brighton and Hove City Council.

Contractors arrived to take down the fences surrounding the area but a group of about 20 people turned up to demand the camp remained. Police were called to keep the peace.

The group claimed the council was not acting quickly enough to improve the site so carried out work themselves and then created an encampment and fenced part of it off.

They cleared the brambles which had overtaken the plot, planted trees and began using the disused allotments. They also put up fences, which they said were erected to act as a creche for their children.

They admitted they held outdoor parties on the site to celebrate the changing of the seasons and the solstice but said they had not disturbed residents.

However, the city council said it has received complaints about general noise, amplified music and excavations carried out on the site.

The issue has even landed one of the camp-makers in court.

The council applied to have an injunction imposed on Hilaire Purbrick to stop him entering the Whitehawk Hill woodland area.

The court case, in Brighton on Thursday, was adjourned and the injunction was not issued in time for the planned work to dismantle the site.

Mr Purbrick was at the encampment with the 20 supporters and tried to persuade the council and police to leave the camp.

Mr Purbrick, 38, said: "The council seem to be objecting to us using the land because we did it without asking their permission but we knew they would have refused.

"We have followed their plan for the area to the word - to clear brambles and the sycamore trees - and they haven't objected to the work we have done. But they have taken down our fences and burned them."

Another camp resident, Matthew Ren, of Findon Road, Whitehawk, Brighton, was also at the site yesterday.

He said: "I think this has become personal. I bring my children up here and we are all local residents using an open space."

Karl Heyman, the city council grounds maintenance manager, said: "A group of people have built an encampment up here by cutting down the local woodland without authority and not in line with the plan for this particular hill.

"We came here to remove the encampment and dispose of it."

Mr Heyman said contractors were not on the site to cut down the trees.