A council has been landed with a £2,700 bill after travellers left a trail of destruction after pitching up on a town's playing field.

A fence was torn down, fires lit, the door to the pavilion torn from its hinges and rubbish and human faeces left strewn across Paddock Wood Football Club's ground, forcing bosses to cancel several matches.

Now a fundraising campaign has been launched to help recoup the £2,500 spent fixing the damage - a community effort led by Paddock Wood Town Council.

A group of travellers set up camp at Elm Tree Playing Fields in Pearson Green Road on Friday, April 8, reportedly breaking through a padlocked gate and bollards put in place to avoid such incursions.

They stayed over the weekend until ordered to move by Kent Police the following Tuesday.

It is the fourth year in a row there have been traveller encampments at Elm Tree Playing Fields, with the damage this year said to be the worst so far.

Chairman of Paddock Wood FC, John Hall, said: "This time is the worst it’s been. They constantly seem to be able to get away with all of this damage and wanton vandalism."

Serious damage to the turf was caused by a fire on one of the pitches, while a spectator fence, installed following a £14,000 grant from the Football Foundation, was brought down.

Trespassers also smashed down the doors of pavilion, drove quadbikes across the field leaving tyre marks, and were seen firing rifles.

Faeces and rubbish, including wood and garden waste, was left on the site, along with beer bottles and other hazardous items.

Mr Hall said: "The amount of bottles in the ditch and human waste was absolutely disgusting.

"You could stand in the middle of the field and smell it it was that vulgar."

As well as the damage to the pitches, the encampment disrupted the club's end of season fixtures.

Mr Hall said: "We had to postpone three matches and switch three to away fixtures.

"A lot of the senior players were looking forward to having a weekend off over the Easter break, but obviously that had to change because they insisted games had to be played.

"You get a fine if you can't fulfil fixtures, unless there’s a good reason,which this time there was, but if you can't switch it then the games just don’t get played."

Paddock Wood FC have 19 teams ranging from under sixes all the way up to senior level,

They play in the Kent County Football League and also have a women's team and a squad for disabled footballers.

Paddock Wood Town Council's estates staff, supported by some residents, spent last Wednesday clearing the waste and ensuring the site was safe and ready for the club to use.

Mr Hall said: "The council worked tirelessly to get it all cleaned in time so when we arrived to set up on the Saturday you wouldn’t think that anyone was there."

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