Travellers who moved onto the site at the Ladywell Playtower have left behind a mountain of rubbish.

Residents first reported seeing people move into the site next to the old swimming pool on Saturday (April 14).

The iconic Ladywell Playtower has been derelict for a number of years, but plans to transform it into a luxury Curzon cinema were approved on November 15 last year.

After an initially inquisitive response from neighbours, soon people started to raise an alarm when they saw mounds of waste start to pile up at the site.

One neighbour commented: “The mess they are making is disgusting. Something has to be done about it before this site becomes one huge skip.”

Eventually Lewisham Council and the police removed the unlawful encampment yesterday (April 17) but a giant pile of rubbish was left behind.

The trash pile may not be as extreme as the 40-ft high, 18,000-tonne, rat-infested, stinking, mountain of rubbish that was in St Paul’s Cray, but it was enough to alarm residents.

One neighbour said: “What a mess, makes me so angry when they do this. People might have more sympathy for them if they kept the area clean instead of disturbing everyone and turning it into a dumping ground.”

A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “The unauthorised encampment has been removed and we are now working to clear the flytip.”