Officially it was an eviction, but a group of travellers were only too pleased to leave after becoming bogged down in a mud bath.

Council officers received a cordial welcome yesterday after turning up with lorries and tow trucks to remove about 30 families from a quagmire at Oreham Common, near Steyning, having moved on to the site on October 17.

Horsham District Council, which owns the land, obtained a court eviction order last month but had to wait until December 9 to begin removing the travellers because many had children.

Council solicitor Liz Creswick said: "We removed six or seven families last week at their request.

"They wanted to go but couldn't get out of the mud, so they called us. The rest went yesterday. They were ready to go when we arrived, which is a bit of a first."

The travellers are understood to have dispersed and headed to different locations.