TRAVELLERS who settled on Prince Charles’s model development at Poundbury were still on the field yesterday despite agreeing to leave by Sunday.

Four caravans and a number of cars arrived on The Great Field last Monday and were given one week to leave by landowner The Duchy of Cornwall.

The travellers, who had arrived from Paignton in Devon, volunteered to leave by the end of the weekend – one day earlier than their deadline from the Duchy – but Poundbury residents woke up yesterday morning to discover only one of the four caravans had left.

A Dorset County Council spokesman had previously said he was ‘confident’ the travellers would stick to their word.

Yesterday, a council spokesman said: “If the travellers are not gone by tomorrow we will make a visit to them and ask them why they have not moved on from the land and seek assurances that they will leave as promised.”

The Great Field at Poundbury will be the venue for the Dorchester Football Club Community Fun Day this Sunday and organisers say the event will go ahead even if the travellers are still there.

Dave Read, one of the organisers of the event, said: “As far as we were concerned they were leaving on Sunday but sadly that hasn’t happened.

“I’m pretty confident they will be gone by Sunday but whatever happens, and even if those three caravans are still there this Sunday, we will still continue with our fun day.

“We will have no problem making sure the fun day goes ahead – the travellers will not interfere with our day.

“They are not going to spoil what we are going to do.”

Margaret Morrissey, the chairman of Poundbury Residents’ Association, said: “We are all hoping they are going to move on and be reasonable because quite frankly we have all been extremely reasonable with them.

“We are also hoping they will leave the site exactly as they left it.

“Unfortunately in the past it hasn’t been so.”

Resident Margaret Whitton, of Peverell Avenue East, added: “We are all wondering what’s happening.

“Normally at the weekend there would be families sitting on the field and balls being kicked around and people flying kites, but we had nothing at all this weekend.

“The youngsters usually play football on the field a couple of nights a week too and we haven’t seen that this week.”

She added: “I was surprised they hadn’t gone.

“It’s a shame.”

David Taylor, a Poundbury resident and Dorchester Town councillor, said he was disappointed the travellers hadn’t gone by yesterday afternoon.

He said: “I would have thought by now that they would have left when they said they would so that the people of Dorchester and Poundbury can have their playing field back to continue with their recreations.

“I am very disappointed that they haven’t stuck to what they said they were going to do.”

Duchy development manager Simon Conibear was unavailable for comment.

A spokesman for Clarence House – Prince Charles’s official residence – did not wish to comment.