THE morning after gypsies set up camp in fields in Malmesbury near the old school at Filands on Sunday, there was an accident at the site.

Police said on Monday morning at 8.44am, one of the gypsies, a male in his 50s, climbed onto a low roof of the derelict school building next to the fields, to recover a horse's harness which had been thrown there by children.

The man fell about six feet, hurting his back. He was taken to Bath Royal United Hospital as a precautionary measure but was not badly injured.

News of the accident came as fears over hygiene at the site were being raised by residents on Tetbury Hill.

The group of about 20 caravans and associated vans, cars and four horses pulled into Malmesbury at 7pm after travelling from Chippenham, where they set up camp at a car park in Bumpers Farm.

According to owners Country Estates, after their seven-day stay the gypsies left a skip full of rubbish, human and horse faeces and damaged paving on the site.

The site at Filands, owned by Wiltshire County Council, has no sewage or clean water provision. Householders neighbouring the site said there had been no trouble but they are concerned of the damage the travellers may cause.

Jackie Morris, of Tetbury Hill, said: "There are no services there and we wonder what they are doing with their sewage and waste."

She added: "The kids have been riding around on quad bikes leaving lots of ruts in the football field."

The gypsies, most of whom are from southern Ireland, say they are only staying for a few days before moving on and they could look after their waste.

John Mughin, 20, said: "There won't be any grief here. We can look after our own sewage and water in the caravans."

The police said they were powerless to act unless they were made aware of any criminal activity and that the county council, as the landowner, would have to apply for eviction. The county council was due to inspect the site yesterday and said the process could take weeks.