Moves to create a campsite for travellers could put an end to unwanted visits at parks and public areas.

Worthing Borough Council's executive agreed to a partnership bid with West Sussex County Council and Arun District Council for funding to build a transit site for gypsies and travellers.

At present, traveller convoys park around Worthing and can be expensive to move on through court action if police do not use their powers to evict them immediately.

A proposed transit site, which may be in Worthing borough or Arun district, could mean police always having a place to move convoys on to, encouraging the use of their eviction powers.

At an executive meeting, borough council leader Sheila Player said: "The council has spent a great deal of money, time and effort in removing travellers from sites in Worthing over the years.

"Like Arun, we will be exploring all the options and we'll keep the public aware of what's going on."

She said council legal officers spent about 90 hours a year applying for traveller evictions and the council had had to pay £15,000 to repair areas damaged during their visits in 2002.

Coun Player said the National Council of Gypsies was being consulted throughout.

Borough council chief executive Sheryl Grady said: "The county is looking for two sites.

"One is required for the Crawley area, which does not have a travellers site, and in Arun or Worthing one will be sufficient.

"An implementation team, a combination of officers from Arun and Worthing councils, has been set up and members are working long and hard to identify possible sites.

"This is a sensitive issue and we are looking for an area that reflects that sensitivity."

The council also agreed to review with police a joint approach to management of unauthorised camping at the proposed transit site.