These pictures show the roadside along Harpham Lane shortly after the site was abandoned by a group of travellers.

Blankets, bedding, furniture and electrical items can be seen strewn across the grass verge along the roadside while an adjacent green lane has also been littered with debris.

Elaine Spalding, a frequent visitor to the village, said: "I can't believe it. There are bags of rubbish, shoes, clothes, human faeces, everything but the kitchen sink.

"I'm surprised there aren't rats among it.

"It's such a shame because Kilham is a lovely village but looks like a dumping ground on the way in."

Holly Stack, of Kilham, said: "It's a disgrace. They should have to pay or clean it up."

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I am disgusted with the mess and I think it is appalling that they get away with it."

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has confirmed it owns the land and that it is aware of the problem.

Its street scene officers have been sent to the site to clean it up.

Kilham Parish Council chairman Geoff Seward said two council workers had cleared away 11 tonnes of rubbish, including green waste, tyres and ash, since getting started on Monday this week.

He said that despite being allocated two days to do the job, it was likely to take four, by which time the council workers expected to have removed up to 25 tonnes of rubbish.

Mr Seward, who was on the site as the clean-up continued yesterday, said the mess was worse than ever.

He said he was aware of motorists having to stop to move items blocking the road on several occasions.

"It's a long-standing tradition that they live in this area and they move from one end of the village to the other.

"They have rarely left the village entirely," he said.

And while years ago travellers would traditionally move from one site to another to ensure their animals had enough grass to graze on, he added: "These guys are a completely different breed."

But some residents are concerned that cleaning the mess up only solves the problem in the short term – and it is only a matter of time before it happens again.

A Kilham resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said it had been a problem for years but had become increasingly worse over the past 18 months.

"There's never a break from it because they just move on.

"The council cleans it up and then they're back again.

"They have been gone a week now and that's the longest it's been without them there."

uk