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Taxpayers have been left with a clean-up bill running into thousands of pounds after travellers “destroyed” one of London’s most beautiful parks.

The travellers left tons of rubbish after illegally camping in Grade II-listed Gunnersbury Park, the former Georgian stately home of 19th century financier Nathan Rothschild, for just three days.

Around 70 men, women and children in 17 caravans arrived on Sunday night after attending Appleby Horse Fair in the Lake District, Europe’s largest gathering of the travelling community,

Park users said the lawns were churned up by cars, a cricket pitch was ripped up and piles of waste, including sofas, mattresses, dirty nappies and building rubble, were dumped.

A local school sports day was cancelled, along with a weekend charity run, because of health and safety fears.

Dog walker Sally Dickinson said: “They have destroyed the park. It is a disgrace.”

Sylvia Kent 65, who works in medicine, said: “I am absolutely fuming. I use this park every single day and have been doing so for 40 years and look what they have done. It’s outrageous. This is a family park and words cannot express how angry I am about the mess which has been left.”

Fiona Howard, 60, who works in fine art, added: “I think of the person in the 1880s who carefully planned where to plant every cedar and Japanese maple and then this happens.”

Hounslow council says the clean-up bill will cost more than £18,000,

The travellers were eventually forced to move on Wednesday after being issued with a legal notice but the group has now set up camp in Blondin Park in Ealing, half a mile away.

Legal proceedings are under way to move them from the new camp but already park users have complained about the mess and nuisance.

Sat Sing, 20, who works for GSK, said: “It’s wrong. They have just barged in there, broken in, taken over the park and left it a complete mess.”

Management consultant Phil Regan, 47, said: “They have been her 36 hours and look at the mess they have made.”

A spokesman for Ealing council said the travellers broke the lock on a gate to gain access.

“There is a legal process we have to follow in order to evict and we are moving forwards with this as quickly as possible,” he said.

Ealing council leader Julian Bell said: “Our parks are being desecrated and despoiled. The beautiful green spaces around here are why people live in this glorious part of West London. It greatly angers me and it comes at such an enormous cost to the taxpayer.

“This is not about there being any prejudice to the traveller way of life – in Ealing we have a designated park where they can stay. It is about the mess left behind, the fly-tipping, the anti-social behaviour and intimidation of park users.

“Parks are there for everyone to enjoy, they are not campsites to be trashed. I wish we had more powers to deal with this quickly, but our hands are tied by the courts.”