TRAVELLERS have left a York beauty spot, amid claims the area could take months to clean and restore to its former glory.

A group of up to 50 people, with about a dozen caravans, moved onto land beside a busy city Park&Ride site last week.

City of York Council gave travellers a deadline of last Sunday to leave Rawcliffe Country Park.

When the group dragged their heels the council applied for an eviction order, issuing them with a summons to appear before city magistrates today.

Now the travellers have left - but some residents are up in arms over alleged damage left behind.

However, the council said the area had been kept "fairly tidy", and there had been no repeat of scenes two years ago. Then travellers caused damage totalling thousands of pounds in a ten-day stay.

But one nearby resident, who asked not to be named, told the Evening Press: "There's horse and dog muck and rubbish all over the place. There's mud churned up all over the field.

"It's disgusting - they've finished the park for the year. It's heartbreaking, because they did such a good job tidying it up after last time."

Local councillor Mark Waudby previously predicted the visitors would hit York's tourist image at one of the city's major gateways. He warned it could leave the area looking like "Steptoe's back yard".

He said today: "There's still damage and rubbish, but my understanding is things are not as bad as last time.

"The travellers have been putting rubbish in bags and our Street Scene officers have been visiting on a daily basis.

"Two years ago they were very much left to their own devices."

Coun Waudby said his main concern was to probe how the visitors gained access - and to prevent a repeat.

He added: "We don't want to get into the cycle of them getting in, causing damage and worrying residents."

A council spokeswoman said security was now being reviewed at Rawcliffe Bar. Options are believed to include putting large boulders in strategic places or creating a moat-style barrier.

She said: "To be fair, the site was not left in a real mess."

Updated: 13:16 Friday, April 30, 2004