A MASSIVE clean-up operation was launched last night to remove 15 tonnes of rubbish left by a large group of travellers.

Police evicted the families from a former airfield at Stoney Cross in the New Forest after receiving complaints about fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

The four-hour operation was hailed as a success by the police and the Forestry Commission.

However, some of the original travellers on the site had already left and established a new camp in nearby Ringwood.

Police arrived at Stoney Cross just after 7am yesterday and found 50 caravans scattered over a wide area.

Officers visited each of the vehicles and served the occupants with a notice to quit under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

They encountered no resistance from the families and no arrests were made.

But Forestry Commission staff found large piles of builders’ rubble – a legacy of driveway repairs carried out by the group in the Southampton area.

The ground was also littered with broken bottles that could have injured animals and visitors to the Forest.

Forestry Commission officials said the clean-up was likely to cost taxpayers at least £5,000.

But the travellers hit back, blaming the shortage of official sites built by local authorities.

John Kelly said: “No sites are provided and when we buy land there’s a lot of opposition. We can’t win.”

Police say the first travellers arrived from Ringwood about two weeks ago and caused little trouble.

However, a much larger group turned up at the weekend after being evicted from the University of Southampton Science Park at Chilworth.

Police started receiving reports that travellers on quad bikes were chasing New Forest ponies and aiming air weapons at the animals, none of which are thought to have been injured.

Yesterday an air rifle was found on the front seat of a Transit van parked at the encampment.

Chief Inspector Lucy Hutson, head of New Forest police, said the area was a site of special scientific interest.

She added: “The Forestry Commission was already going through the normal legal process to remove the travellers but the amount of damage being caused was too great to allow them to remain any longer.

“They’ve churned up the ground and dumped builders’ rubble around the perimeter of the site.

“We will monitor where they go as best we can and have also asked local landowners to secure their property.”

The travellers dispersed, with many of the twin-axle caravans heading north up the M3.

“However, some of the original group left Stoney Cross on Monday night and returned to Ringwood.

Last night town clerk Terry Simpson said about 19 caravans were parked on a football training field in Long Lane.

He added: “We’ll move them as quickly as we legally can and hopefully they will be gone by the end of the week.”