Travellers camped on a playing field are enjoying the best bin collection in Brighton and Hove.

About 20 caravans moved on to the Ladies' Mile playing field, near the A27 roundabout, at the beginning of the month.

Since then the travellers have had their bins emptied every day by the council, without a single missed collection.

Neighbours today questioned why the travellers were getting a better bin service than the city's taxpayers.

Rose McDonagh, 20, who arrived at the site with her parents and nine siblings on Wednesday, said: "When one group of travellers leaves a mess it's bad for all of us.

"Some travellers are messy but we're not. People here are willing to keep the site clean and a man from the council comes to empty our rubbish every day."

Robert James, 65, of Mackie Avenue, said: "Residents should have a good service once a week, which sometimes we aren't getting.

"Last Friday the rubbish was collected a day late and foxes and seagulls are always ready to tear up the bags all over the place.

"It's a good idea to give the travellers a regular collection but residents need a better deal too."

Brighton and Hove City Council yesterday began legal moves to evict the group from the field, owned by Patcham High School, a week after they set up camp.

The delay was caused by confusion over who was responsible for the site.

At first the council claimed it was the duty of Jarvis, which maintains the school and its grounds. The firm said it was taking steps to deal with the issue before the authority discovered it was liable.

A council spokesman said: "We are taking legal action to evict the travellers as soon as possible.

"We're also arranging for rubbish to be cleared regularly for the sake of local residents, who obviously don't want the site getting untidy."

The travellers' bins are being emptied once a day by Brighton-based CNS Rubbish Clearance, which is being paid by the city council.

The council operates only one official travellers' site, in Horsdean. It is fully occupied.