A REVIEW has found police and council followed the right processes when dealing with travellers on St Matthews Field in Bridgwater earlier this year.

A review of both Sedgemoor District Council and police procedure was called for by SDC's corporate scrutiny committee following an incident in May when 20 caravans set up an unauthorised encampment on St Matthew's Field.

Since then other encampments have been set up in Sedgemoor, in Northgate and the Kingsdown estate among others, but Sedgemoor District Council say these have been smaller - around five or six caravans - and trouble free.

The issue surrounding travellers and powers to deal with them was brought to the attention of Avon and Somerset Police Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens and chief inspector Lisa Simpson at a Bridgwater Town Development Forum in July in wake of the St Matthew's Field encampment.

At the meeting Ch Insp Simpson said: "It is one of the most challenging issues we face. If there is a crime then like any other we need to be able to prove who committed it and this can prove difficult.

"Equally we do not really have the resources to move 70 people, caravans and trailers, animals and all and even then, where do we put them?"

The St Matthew's Field encampment saw upset local residents complain to the council and contact the police, with allegations of criminal damage and reported costs of up to £2,000 to clear up the site once the travellers had been moved on.

Following this Sedgemoor District Council's corporate scrutiny, headed by councillor Brian Smedley, called for a task and finish working group to look at the causes and possible solutions.

The working group heard evidence that sites work with best with supervision and that a maximum of 12-14 pitches per site.

During the St Matthew's Field encampment the police received ten calls over nine days, six of which related to damage at the allotments and there were four crimes recorded in that period.

The review found that "the process followed by the council and the police in response to the encampment at St Matthew's Field was the right process," and that "the reported spike in crime was not evident."

However the review did state that the communication between the police and council could have been better,

and that going forward more needs to be done to identify transit sites with a preference for smaller numbers and supervision.