TRAVELLERS who set up camp near a children's playground in a grassed area of York have now departed.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe councillor Stephen Fenton said today that the site had been cleared of waste left behind, adding: "A happy ending!"

Cllr Fenton revealed earlier this week that the travellers' caravans had been driven into a grassed area at the end of Principal Rise, Dringhouses, in the centre of which was a children's playground.

He said vehicles had been coming and going, making the area unsafe for local children to use, and a well-used cycle and footpath ran through the area currently occupied by the travellers.

He said the absence of toilet facilities was an obvious concern for the residents whose homes were immediately adjacent to the site, and City of York Council’s Neighbourhood Enforcement team was taking the necessary legal steps to have the travellers removed as soon as possible.

Travellers have previously camped on two other sites in the Dringhouses area this summer: All Saints School playing fields near York College and a site near Askham Bog nature reserve, both of which they vacated after being ordered to leave by the council.