Travellers last night left Gunnersbury Park, where they had been camped for three days, and headed straight for nearby Blondin Park.

More than a dozen caravans and vans arrived on Sunday evening in the south-east corner of Gunnersbury Park, in Gunnersbury Avenue, on the borders of Brentford and Acton.

Hounslow Council yesterday morning issued a legal notice giving them 24 hours in which to leave or face court action.

The situation escalated when the council closed the park just before 5pm due to safety fears, with reports of people racing cars around the grounds.

One man claimed someone had tried to run him down in a van when he started taking photos.

The Travellers began pouring out at about 7pm, but Tweets suggested they had headed straight to Blondin Park, off Northfield Avenue, which is managed by Ealing Council.

Hounslow Council this morning confirmed the travellers had left Gunnersbury Park and the clean-up would now begin.

As well as leaving piles of rubbish behind, it appears the Travellers have torn up the turf, including a cricket pitch on the grounds, with their vehicles.

As Ealing Council prepares to deal with the Travellers in Blondin Park, which is home to the Brentford Festival, is not yet clear how much their brief stay at Gunnersbury will end up costing Hounslow Council.

Gunnersbury Park has reopened.