A GROUP of gipsies who left a £100,000 scene of devastation when they were evicted from the LG site, moved on to ground at Newport's Tredegar House yesterday just three weeks before the start of the National Eisteddfod.

Council workers are today working to clear up the LG site which was strewn with human excrement, scrap metal, glass, and litter after police evicted the gipsies yesterday morning.

Clearing the "health hazard" could cost as much as £100,000. And there are fears that a similar scene would greet the 150,000 visitors expected to arrive in Newport at the end of the month for the Eisteddfod. Nearly a dozen caravans moved on to a plot of land next to the main car park just after the entrance to Tredegar House.

Police and Newport council said they were working to move on the group but could face legal challenges that could result in delays to any eviction. Eisteddfod chairman John Hughes said: "We are aware of the situation and are liaising with the authorities."

Marshfield councillor Bill Morgan said the LG site - where a dead horse was once found - is now a major health hazard.

He said: "It could cost as much as £100,000 to clear. It is time for the council to act and the road has to be blocked off."

Inspector James Baker, of Pill police, said police were closely monitoring the site on a regular basis.

He said: "I visited the LG site myself today and it was in an horrendous state. We videoed that site and prosecutions may be considered where it is possible to attribute actions to individuals.

"There is a protocol between Gwent Police and the council with regard to l moving the travellers from the Eisteddfod site.

"It normally falls to the council to take action on their own land, but police will be there to support any action if the council decide to move them on." A council spokeswoman said: "It is regrettable that some travellers do not treat the land and surrounding community with respect and leave areas in such a condition that requires the authorities to clean up at a cost."