Pic of Liz Bennett in system. and new pic of chunter at sceneP9 pic lead> DIRTY nappies, excrement and asbestos piping were today being cleared from a Suffolk village green after travellers moved on.

By Georgina James

DIRTY nappies, excrement and asbestos piping were today being cleared from a Suffolk village green after travellers moved on.

Liz Bennett embarked on her mission to restore Sproughton's Millennium Green to its former state armed with her poop scoop.

After collecting by hand 50 bags containing human waste she said she hoped she had not caught anything from what was a real health hazard.

She claimed the travellers, who are believed to have been at Ravenswood earlier in the week, also left piles of garden waste, clothes, tools, dirty nappies in the river, soiled toilet paper and asbestos piping in the conservation area. The scene was a sad contrast to when the green was proudly chosen to commemorate the dawn of a new millennium two years ago, and villagers gathered to mark the occasion.

"They left it in real state. It was quite awful. The worst though was the human excrement which was spread across the entire field.

"I had to clean the area by hand and I collected 50 bags of waste. It was revolting."

Mrs Bennett together with other volunteers also took four trailer loads of garden waste to the dump. However some were too big to move so the village has decided to use them for the church bonfire on November 5. They are also waiting for Babergh District Council to remove the asbestos piping.

Jeremy Chuter, one of the volunteers said: "The bridge area was absolutely disgusting. It's one thing to set up camp on someone else's land but there is no need to leave it in the state they did.

"The caravans were top of the range and have all the necessary facilities, so why they felt they had to go to the toilet all over the field beggars belief. They obviously did it out of spite.

"Families and children come on here so it was vital that we cleaned the area as soon as possible."

The travellers arrived at the site on Wednesday, and around 25 caravans had set up camp on the green. When they were finally moved on, police had to close the road on Friday to let the caravans out.

Although the area was left looking more like a rubbish tip rather than a conservation area, the volunteers do not believe any significant physical damage has been done.