TRAVELLERS who camped out on a football pitch in Huncoat have been accused of leaving a mess.

Fourteen caravans pitched on the playing fields off Bolton Avenue for 24 hours last week.

Councillor Dave Parkins lives opposite the fields said: "There are bits of food, bags of roof tiles and some burnt tyres left behind. If that was the mess after one day I would not like to have seen what would have happened if they had been there a week."

The travellers have visited the site for the last couple of years and previously there have been problems with their vehicles churning up the fields.

Police were called to the site during the latest visit after receiving calls from 15 residents. Hyndburn Council parks officer Andy Hayhurst said he expected rubbish to be cleared within the next few days.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.