Travellers pull-up at Worksop Cricket Club – parking on the ground’s square

Householders spoke of their concerns that the pitch - kept in pristine condition by the club - would be ruined as litter was strewn over the field.

One onlooker described seeing rubbish thrown onto the bowling green and having to close her windows due to loud music being played.

A man told how he saw several PCSOs approach a group on the field when they arrived about 10am on Thursday – before being ‘shouted at’ and promptly leaving.

While a woman living nearby said she saw one member of the group being arrested and ‘loaded into a police car’.

Residents say the caravans began leaving on Saturday evening and had now all gone.

One described the police and club groundsmen response to the situation as ‘amazing’, adding ‘they kept a very close eye on them the entire time they were here’.

She said: “The moment they went these guys moved in and cleaned up all the rubbish that had been left.

“They then returned on Sunday to mow and get the field back to its original state – impressive stuff.”

She added: “They were relatively well-behaved and didn’t completely destroy the cricket field.”

When the caravans began arriving on Thursday one onlooker described seeing them ‘driving about on the field’.

He said: “There’s people walking about and chatting away – it’s only two days ago a guy spent two hours on it with mowers and a heavy roller.

“Local people walk around the square for exercise but this lot don’t seem to care.

“There’s already litter building up - give it a couple of days and it’ll look like a rubbish tip.”

A woman living on the other side of the canal off Sandhill Street said she had to shut her windows due to loud music being played and felt ‘sorry for the cricket club’.

She said: “They spend hours watering and cutting that pitch - now there’s caravans parked on it.

“There’s going to be rubbish everywhere - if they left the place the same way they found it it would be Ok but I don’t think they will.

“I’ve already seen a couple of them throw some rubbish onto the bowling green.”

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