A group of travellers demanded £15,000 to quit an illegal camp and left a sea of rubbish after its private owners haggled them down to £5,000.
Landowners Devinder Singh and Syed Hussain, who own the commercial site in Sutton Lane, Langley, were left with an estimated clean-up bill of £20,000.
The pair, who wanted to start a car sales business on site, say nine travellers’ caravans showed up on their land on August 31.
Landowners Devinder Singh and Syed Hussain, pictured, who own the commercial site in Sutton Lane, Langley, were left with an estimated clean-up bill of £20,000
They tried to negotiate to get them to leave, and on Tuesday evening, gave them £5,000 to vacate.
Mr Singh, 32, who said the group originally asked them for £15,000, added: ‘They left after 20 to 25 minutes. I never thought they were going to do this.’
The group of about 20 people have now left tonnes of rubbish including wood, bath tubs and gas cylinders.
The pair say they opted to pay the travellers because getting an eviction order from the court would be too time consuming.
The pair tried to negotiate to get them to leave, and on Tuesday evening, gave them £5,000 to vacate. But they left behind a huge pile of rubbish
Co-owner Mr Hussain, 56, said: ‘Because of the amount of rubbish they were filling up, we had decided to give money.’
Mr Hussain said the police could not help because it was on privately owned land.
Thames Valley Police said the gate to the site may have been damaged but it is not investigating it because the owners did not put in a formal complaint.
An Environment Agency spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the issue and this is currently under investigation by our local officers.
‘We cannot say much more until our work has concluded.’
Mr Hussain, 56, pictured, said: ‘Because of the amount of rubbish they were filling up, we had decided to give money’