THERE seems quite an influx of gypsies and travellers and unauthorised sites, throughout Dorset, but there seems to be no effort to provide any kind of public and private transit or emergency stopping places.

As the years move on, there are going to be more and more, as our children get older and take partners and have children.

But there is no great effort being applied, to create more official stopping transit or permanent sites.

Local councils have a duty to identify and provide sites, if they choose not to provide, then they are at fault, relinquishing their responsibility, also the anti-social comments and actions of the wider populations created by these failures.

We do not condone any form of anti-social behaviour from our community, but we feel that unauthorised encampments are the outcome of council leaderships’ failures to provide. If we are to ignore the problem, it will persist and get worse.

JOSEPH P JONES, (chair) Gypsy Council, (UK) International Romany Union