The temporary site for travellers will cost the council �25,000

A temporary site where travellers will be moved to during the 37th Great Dorset Steam Fair is to be set up.

Providing and managing the site during the event will cost taxpayers �25,000.

The local council says that is far less than the cost of dealing with residents' complaints, tidying up the illegal camps and barricading sites.

'Successful strategy'

A spokeswoman for North Dorset District Council said the cost of cleaning up encampments after the 2003 fair was �10,000.

Measures taken to keep travellers off various sites was estimated at more than �14,000.

Last year was the first time the district and county councils and police used powers to move on illegally camped travellers from around the fair, held at Tarrant Hinton, near Blandford Forum.

Dave Ayre, head of Dorset County Council's gypsy and traveller services, said: "At its peak, last year's site accommodated up to 58 caravans which would otherwise have been involved in unauthorised camping in the Blandford area. We hope to repeat last year's successful strategy."

This year's fair takes place between 31 August and 4 September and will feature 200 working steam engines and 100 fairground organs.