A group of Travellers have been given 24-hours to leave Mabley Green after fly tipping trucks were found in their unauthorised encampment.

The Council intended to serve an order on Wednesday demanding the Travellers, who had moved their caravans under the A12 flyover off Lee Conservancy Road last Thursday, leave two weeks later on December 27.

But when when council officers arrrived at the site to serve the notice, fly-tipping vehicles were spotted and they decided to to step up the action, changing the terms of the notice and giving them just 24 hours to quit.

Just yards from the site on Sunday, mindless fly tippers dumped 49 tonnes of waste covering an area the size of a football field.

It has cost the council £10,500 so far to clean up the domestic construction waste, which includes broken glass and rubble, and the cost of repairing the damage to the park is likely to run into thousands.

The Mabley Green User group has spent the past three years transforming the filthy piece of land into a flourishing community garden filled with apple and plum trees, herbs, wild garlic, currants and bluebells.

Youngsters and adults in the group who have dedicated hours of their time to the project are devastated it has all been destroyed by the rubbish.

It is a big set back for the group which wants to turn Mabley Green into the world’s largest edible park.

Its chair Damian Rafferty does not want to begin their clean up operation on the meadow until the Travellers have left the site, as until that time the area must remain open to vehicles to allow them access.

He is concerned that more fly tipping could occur in the meantime.

The council is now reviewing CCTV footage, gathering witness statements and sifting through the waste for clues to find out where it came from and making DVLA checks on vehicles to try to identify the perpetrators.

Hackney’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Sophie Linden, said: “The council met the Travellers and talked with them to find a solution to the problem but unfortunately this did not prove possible.

“We are determined to protect our parks and open spaces for the enjoyment of all residents. We do not permit unauthorised encampments and where necessary we will take legal action to enforce the occupants’ removal.

“The council is investigating fly tipping at the scene and we will impose the strongest possible legal sanctions against the perpetrators when we find out who they are.

“Our environmental enforcement team are continuing to monitor the situation.”