TRAVELLERS are still camping on a York school's playing fields today, despite being given an official 'notice to leave' by this morning.

York councillor Stephen Fenton said the group of travellers set up camp on an All Saints School sports pitch off Sim Balk Lane, Dringhouses, last week.

He said City of York Council Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers visited the site on Friday and served a 'direction to leave' notice requiring them to leave by 8.30am today.

He said that as they had yet not left, it was likely a court order would be needed.

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe added that a large volume of cut vegetation had been flytipped in a nature area nearby, which was managed by York College.

He said that if anyone came to residents' doors, offering to cut back trees or hedges, they should ask to see their waste carrier licence and ask how the cut vegetation would be disposed of. "Better still, contact a local business to do the work."

Safer York tweeted that a direction to leave had been served on the unlawful encampment, but unfortunately there was a lot of dog faeces on the ground.