And Warwick District Council, which owns both car parks, may have to start fresh legal proceedings to move them on.

The group left refuse including used nappies and human excrement when they moved from a car park in Hampton Road to Myton Fields on Wednesday.

A smaller group of Romany gypsies who had been staying at that site since April 21 moved later that day.

Now residents are protesting that the riverside field has become a quagmire thanks to the large caravans, 4X4 vehicles and vans.

Warwick District Council had begun legal action to evict travellers, who had said they would leave on Sunday.

County council gypsy and traveller service officer Rob Leahy said that if travellers moved to a new site, a new legal action must begin, even though the situation was the same.

Residents contacted the Courier about both sites. Tony Byrne, of Chase Meadow estate blamed the travellers for human excrement on a footpath between the Chase Meadow estate and Warwick Racecourse.

Another resident, Sara Bennett, asked why the gypsies at Myton Fields were not being charged for parking or clamped.

She said: "Any visitors to Warwick over the weekend will be wondering what's going on, what with rubbish and recycling left uncollected everywhere and travellers camped on the side of the river."

Dog walker Alison Kenton said: "We want our 'beautiful historic Warwick' back please and in the same condition you found it in."

A Myton Road resident, who asked not to be named, demanded to know why the council and police had not taken action sooner.

He said: "We are entitled in a democracy to know what they are doing to justify their position."

The resident said heavy rain meant the caravans had made the grass a "quagmire" and ruined the field for townspeople and tourists.
He added: "It is an absolute disgrace for the people of Warwick that we allow this."

District council spokesman Richard Brooker explained the authority had begun its first legal proceedings as soon as it could.

He added cleaning the Hampton Road site - including human excrement - was expected to cost at least £2,000, and that parts of Myton Field might need to be returfed once the travellers left.

Mr Brooker stressed the authority still hoped to evict the travellers today (Friday), but admitted the travellers might still be there over the weekend.

He added: "We are taking action along with other bodies to remove the travellers from our land. Legal action will commence at the earliest opportunity."

Travellers staying in Warwick say they have been badly treated by officials.

The large group of Irish travellers in Hampton Road insisted they had offered to pay the council for a skip and portable toilets, but officers told them this was not possible.

Another, who gave his name as 'Big Chief' said: "They have treated us very poorly and made us look dirty in front of people. All we want is peace."

One, Susie White, 56, said on Monday the group would clean up any mess before they left.

She added: "We have a right to live as much as anybody else. We are human beings and if they made a site for us, we would go but they won't make them."

Council spokesman Mr Brooker disputed this. He said the travellers had abused council workers who visited the site to make checks before clearing rubbish.