Travellers who illegally occupied a green belt site in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, have finally left following a High Court order, but have abandoned rubbish and vehicles across the damaged land. The group first moved onto Friendless Lane over the Easter bank holiday weekend in April, bulldozing the site and laying concrete hardstanding on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty while local authority staff were off duty, sparking months of legal action and a reported "crisis moment" when residents tried to block further vehicles from entering.

A deputy High Court judge ruled in July that the travellers had breached interim orders and ordered them to clear the site, leave by Monday this week, and pay £15,000 towards the council's £51,000 legal costs. Flamstead Parish Council's chairman said caravans had departed steadily over the past week, though a few vehicles and a container remain, and described roughly 6,000 tonnes of hardcore left behind as "a mess" that will take considerable effort to remove. Local MP Victoria Collins and Dacorum Borough Council leader Sally Symington both welcomed the departure while stressing ongoing monitoring of the site.