DEMANDS have been made for a “level playing field” after travellers camped on land at Lydiard Park without having to pay parking fees.

A clean-up crew moved to clear mess left behind on Monday night after the group departed. But anger that the caravans and other vehicles spent five days there without payment remained.

According to the Lydiard Park website, charges range for £2 for two hours to £4 for all day.

It also states: Any cars found to be parking illegally will be given a fixed penalty notice of £30, rising to £60 if not paid within the specified time period. All areas of the sites will be covered by the traffic order, not just the car parks.”

Peter Amies contacted the Advertiser and demanded to know from the council whether the travellers’ vehicles displayed the appropriate parking tickets throughout their stay and if they didn’t he wanted confirmation the council’s parking enforcement team had issued penalty notices.

The vehicles all had registration plates, he said and their owners should be pursued in the same way as other motorists.

“We all want a 'level playing field' like this to park on for free,” he said.

“We have to pay to park there now. Why not charge them to stay there?” suggested a comment on the Advertiser website.

“I bet if you turned up with a caravan and parked up overnight there would be a charge or fine imposed,” said one.

“Fantastic - we were struggling to find a place to camp for the next bank holiday weekend,” wrote another reader, ironically.

“Lydiard Park will be perfect - and it's free too if you're staying overnight and not actually parked in one of the car parks. Toilet facilities, a cafe and ice cream kiosk - kids playground and lovely and peaceful at night - I'll be sure to leave a positive review about my camping trip on Trip Advisor.”

The travellers moved eight caravans and two horseboxes on to the rough grazing area near the sports pitches last Wednesday.

When they finally moved on five days later council staff and volunteers went in to clear waste that had been left behind, including human excrement and a trashed car.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “Whenever travellers move onto public land, as in this case, council officers work closely with the police in order to ensure the group move on as quickly as possible.

“This is a sensitive process and while we agree with Mr Amies’ view that the group should not be exempt from parking charges, handing out penalty charge notices will do little to help our efforts in moving the travellers on and would likely serve to inflame the situation further.”