An outspoken councillor could be suspended after directing travellers away from her ward.

Brighton and Hove city councillor Dawn Barnett sparked controversy when she handed out letters to a group illegally camping in the city which directed them to areas overseen by Green councillors.

The Conservative member, perhaps the most outspoken critic of the administration's “firm but fair” approach to travellers, was unhappy at potential damage to recreation facilities in her Hangleton and Knoll ward.

But a fellow member, believed to be Green councillor Phelim MacCafferty, has reported his colleague to the local authority watchdog for encouraging trespassing of the city's parks.

The council's standards committee, which is made up of a mixture of elected councillors and members of the public, will then decide if Coun Barnett should be punished.