A CLEAN-UP operation is under way at Firepool in Taunton after a group of travellers have finally left the site.

The travellers arrived at the site - earmarked as a primary development opportunity - last Thursday (February 27) and Taunton Deane Council started a legal process to remove them.

Today (March 7), the council's Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) secured the site and will be clearing volumes of rubbish found at the site.

The council had served a Notice of Direction on the group, requiring the travellers to leave by 6pm on Wednesday evening. The travellers left some 24 hours later.

Cllr Mark Edwards, Deputy Leader of the Council, has been monitoring the situation closely since the group arrived on the Council-owned land.

He said: “I am delighted that they have left and while I appreciate the frustration felt by some we do need to follow the necessary legal processes.”

The costs of the legal process and the clear-up are still being assessed.