Work has begun to remove huge chalk mounds on the historic Telscombe Tye after a council ruled they breached planning rules.

The "bunds" on Telscombe Tye were supposed to keep travellers and fly-tippers out of a protected field. But the contractors who dumped them used chalk contaminated with building waste including concrete, window frames and plastic pipes.

The bunds were created on the site under the instruction of South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC), previously known as the South Downs Conservation Board.

The organisation, which manages the Tye on behalf of landowners Telscombe Town Council, was wrongly told that planning permission was not needed. When it was discovered this was not the case, the council applied for retrospective permission to East Sussex County Council but was refused.

The conservation board faces a bill of up to £30,000 to remove the chalk mounds.

Phil Belden, Countryside Manager for the SDJC, told The Argus the £30,000 estimated cost for taking the chalk to landfill was a "worst case scenario".

He hoped they would be able to use all or some of the chalk for other projects in Sussex.

However, because of the massive cost of removing the chalk, the conservation board is in talks with the county council about being allowed to leave the "clean" chalk at the site and just remove the contamination.

Kathleen Verrall, clerk to Telscombe Town Council, said: "The bill will not come to Telscombe Town Council. The South Downs Joint Committee will have to sort it out with the contractor. The council required the whole of it to be removed but I understand the SDJC is having further discussions to see if the clean chalk can be used to create smaller bunds."