A council is powerless to stop the return of travellers who upset mourners by staging a rowdy party next to the town's crematorium.

The peace of Worthing Crematorium was shattered when an estimated 50 vehicles parked in its access road off the A24 north of Findon roundabout.

Mourners left in tears after a quiet moment with their loved ones was ruined by what was described as a rock concert taking place in the convoy.

An Arun District Council spokesman said the road is currently at the centre of an ownership dispute and it would be down to whoever is awarded ownership by the courts to take appropriate action to remove any travellers.

Worthing Crematorium has a special Garden of Rest where mourners can reflect and remember the departed.

Graham Southern, 42, of Downland Drive, Crawley, had visited the crematorium, where his father Leonard's ashes were scattered, on Sunday.

As he approached the crematorium, he found a crowd of travellers blocking the road and drinking beer, smoking and playing loud music.

He said: "I thought it was a rock concert, there were so many people.

"They were travellers and you had to fight to get through. The noise was unbelievable.

"As you drove in, there were vehicles and people on either side of the road and you had to run the gauntlet to pass through them.

"One lady was in tears. She was scared to leave because she was frightened of them. I let her go in front of me until she got out.

"Of all the places to have a party. I think it's disgusting. I was gobsmacked.

"They were drinking and smoking. They had no consideration or respect for anybody."

Registrar Ian Rudkin said the travellers were reported to have continued partying until 2am but did an excellent job of clearing away beer cans before yesterday's morning services.

Stressing that the crematorium had no authority over the mile-long road leading to it, Mr Rudkin said: "The travellers have been there for 18 months and have caused no problem to the site.

"But we had a report of an influx of vehicles and people telephoning to say there was noise going on."

A Worthing Borough Council environmental health officer attending the disturbance on Sunday and said the revellers might be intimidating to some.

Mr Rudkin said: "On Monday morning, we came into the crematorium to find 15 vehicles on the driveway.

"We walked down at 9am to say services would be on. There were beer cans and what you would expect from a lot of people celebrating.

"We asked if they needed bin bags but they made the place immaculate - they picked up everything and there was only two cars by the time services began."

Mr Rudkin said it was the first time such an incident had happened.

He said: "It is the nature of the crematorium for people to come for a moment of quiet reflection and that sort of noise does clash."