Travellers have moved on after pitching up on a popular family field.

Dozens of caravans and vehicles made their way onto the green at Penenden Heath in Maidstone last night.

Some wooden fencing around the outside of the site, which was put in place to protect it, had been removed to make way for access.

The field is used by dog walkers, sports teams and family with children who play at the nearby park.

A Maidstone council spokesman said: “Maidstone Borough Council community protection team visited Penenden Heath on Tuesday morning to undertake welfare checks and assess the impact of the encampment on the local area.

“Having received complaints from the local community, the officers later returned and, using their community protection powers, issued a formal warning to the encampment, requiring them to vacate the area by 2pm.

“The officers returned to the site shortly after 2pm and confirmed that the warning had been complied with and the encampment had moved on.”

The green is directly next to The Bull pub and restaurant and a small parade of businesses, including an off-licence and chip shop.

One resident said a couple of the wooden panels had been broken.

They added: “They set up the caravans in a circle and were pitching gas bottles and cables.”

As of this evening the unauthorised encampment had moved on from the site.

Maidstone council confirmed the fence which was broken is currently in the process of being replaced and will cost £800.

Councils have a limited amount of options they can exercise to remove illegal encampments – to find out more, click here.

The most common route includes handing them a notice and ordering them to move on.