Why does Brighton and Hove City Council allow travellers to set up camp in parks illegally, thereby preventing law-abiding citizens from enjoying parks free from hassle?

The truth is, in the eyes of the council and the police, travellers do nothing which is illegal.

Hence you won't recall the last time it was reported a traveller in the city got their collar felt for camping on private land, parking illegally, tipping rubbish, not declaring earned income while in receipt of benefit, or having no road tax, insurance or MoT.

Of course, it is altogether a different story when the perpetrator is a tax payer..

Taxpayers of late have even been imprisoned for refusing to pay council taxes for clearing up mess left by travellers.

Of course the council turning a blind eye to travellers is not new and we should remember we can't trust much of what it says, either.

Not so many years ago, the council made two solemn oaths, reported in The Argus, and, in my opinion, reneged on both of them.

1. It said that, after the bypass was built, it would not allow any further development north of it.

The council then built a camp for travellers north of the bypass, at Hornsdean.

2. It said once the travellers' camp (constructed at the expense of the local taxpayer) was up and running, it would not tolerate any more fly-by-night travellers anywhere in Brighton and Hove.

The truth is, England has become a dustbin, inasmuch as travellers who are forbidden in their native country are tolerated, if not welcomed with open arms, over here.

  • Dave Bonwick, Oakdene Close, Portslade