A CAMPAIGN group claims the rights of the travelling minority are being put ahead of settled communities in a new draft strategy for supporting gipsy families.

The Defend Our Village Environment group (Dove) in Sedgefield has objected to Durham County Council's proposals, fearing they will open the floodgates to a deluge of travellers draining the county's resources.

The council has drawn up a draft strategy called Towards a Better Future, which it hopes will find ways of providing better services for travellers and build bridges with residents.

The outline plan states the council will explore the possibility of building a permanent site, with funds from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and developing areas of acceptance for stopovers.

Other proposals include welcome packs to gipsies and travellers and a detailed checklist for agencies to complete before unauthorised encampments are evicted.

Mike Gibson, of Dove, said: "With thousands of travellers from Ireland and Eastern Europe being reported as want-ing to move to England, they could easily overwhelm the resources of County Durham.

"The strategy is based on the assumptions that travellers not on an authorised site would be regarded as 'homeless', and that illegal encampments would be regarded as problem-free.

"But from our experience of the illegal encampments in Sedgefield, they are certainly not problem-free and some travellers actually have permanent homes in County Durham, or in neighbouring counties."

A spokesperson for Durham County Council said: "The draft strategy document is the county council's attempt to address racism and discrimination faced by gipsies and travellers, within County Durham.

"It is a draft, and the reason for engaging in consultation with interested parties is to gather proper and mature views and comments that can be taken into account when the issue is considered and final decisions are reached.

"However, Dove's comments about the strategy attracting so many gypsies and travellers into the county that our resources could easily be overwhelmed are sensationalist, provocative and without foundation. There is no evidence to support this assertion."