Peter Henley Politics Editor South

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Planning permission was granted to Jimmy and Valerie Ayres

Jimmy and Valerie Ayres are travellers who have learned to use the law to their advantage. Looking for a place to stop, with their two children, they bought land at Motcombe in North Dorset and applied for planning permission for a wooden bungalow.

And unlike most applications from travellers theirs was granted, but with a catch - they must remove it again by 2011.

The local authority - North Dorset District Council - says permission was granted only to meet the special needs of the applicants and their children. They want to control the long term use of the site.

Valerie says "I have two children with asthma. They need this building and that is why I applied for it.

Valerie Ayres believes planning constraints are unfair

"I have gone the legal way round, the right way round of doing it, been given it and it is to be taken from me.

"And I do not think it is fair."

In frustration, other travellers have taken on the law. They have bought land designed for agricultural use and then moved in dozens of caravans in a weekend.

Tough Tories

And whilst many Gypsies and Travellers move around the countryside causing no problems at all, the behaviour of some - setting up camps on picnic sites or car parks - has led to a tougher approach from the Conservative Party.

They believe current planning laws and police powers favour the rights of travellers over the settled community, they would like to see the human rights act changed, and make intentional trespass a criminal offence.

Accused by Labour of "tapping into bigotry" Michael Howard said: "it is not about bigotry, it is about fairness.

"People want a government that upholds the law - not one that turns a blind eye when the law is flouted."

Jimmy's caravan is a far cry from the horse-drawn Romany wagon

Comfort and style

Travellers now use the latest shiny caravan towed by a 4x4 rather than the horse-drawn Romany wagon of old. And they may be learning to use the law to their own advantage.

But whilst travellers' basic culture has not changed in centuries the rest of the world has moved a long way.

Common land has disappeared. Village greens are surrounded by expensive houses with neatly trimmed verges.

Without qualifications, traveller children find it difficult to get work.

There are around 100 thousand gypsies and travellers in the UK.

But according to a select committee report last year the shortage of legal sites leaves a fifth of them at anyone time with no place to stop.

Which all but guarantees a summer of confrontation on the highways and byways of Britain.

Politics Show

Join Peter Henley from Piddlehinton in Dorset, BBC One on Sunday, 19 June 2005 at 12.00 noon.

click here to view the Politics Show South

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