A GROUP of travellers have been evicted from a Bolton site after the council successfully applied for a court order to remove them.

The 40-strong group had been given until 11am yesterday to leave the site near St Mark's Street and Sidney Street.

They have been camped on car parks in the area for the last two months.

The council was granted permission to evict the travellers at Bolton Magistrates Court on Monday.

Officers were given the power to forcibly remove the travellers with the police if they refused to leave.

However, they left by the deadline.

Businesses in the area have been left to foot the bill for the clean up of the area which is strewn withrubbish, furniture and gas bottles.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "When officers went to the site at around 10am yesterday, the group were already packing up.

"They complied with the court order and had gone by 11am.

"If rubbish has been left on council-owned land, it is our responsiblity to clean it up but if it is on private land, it is down to the businesses."

Bill Proudman, a director at Northern Realisations based at Albion Mill in St Mark's Street, said the area had been left in a terrible state.

He said: "It is absolutely scandalous.

"The car park is a real mess with gas bottles, bags of rubbish and even a three-piece suite.

"Something should be done about it.

"I thought the whole point of bringing in these designated sites was to make sure they used them but the council are obviously not enforcing it.

"They were here for two months before they were moved on."