MOSES Willis and his family live on the side of the road. Their home is a clean and well-decorated caravan and while their pets have the run of the outside, they use the roadside to sell their carpentry goods to passing traffic.

Positioned in a small lay-by in Bishops Caundle, Moses, his wife Annie, and family Lisa, 26, toddler Mary and six-year-old Judd, say the locals have made them feel very welcome.

Although they don't pay council tax they try and play by the rules by having a TV licence and taking their rubbish to the nearby tip. They also buy their goods from nearby traders in an attempt to put money back into the local economy.

But while the locals make the family feel welcome, some people are not so accommodating. The Willis' are bombarded with verbal abuse about three or four times a day from passing motorists who are clearly upset by their presence.

Moses and his family are no strangers to this. Earlier this year bothers Neil, 41, and Martin Shepherd, 36, carried out a systematic campaign of racial abuse as they drove past the family who were then camping on the A350 Blandford bypass.

They called them "vermin" and "gypo scum" during the three-week harassment spree.

The Shepherd brothers were taken to court and were each sentenced to a 240-hour community punishment order and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the family.

After the case the Willis family even received two hand written letters from the two men apologising for their actions and offering an explanation for their behaviour.

It was believed to be the first court case of its kind.

But Moses says people are very quick to judge.

His outlook on life is simple. He loves the life he leads and believes that it is a privilege.

The 53-year-old has traced his Romany Gypsy links back to 1689 and says: "I don't know any other way of life. I couldn't live in a house if someone paid me in gold and diamonds."

Moses doesn't like the way some travellers treat the areas they stay in.

"A person isn't a litter lout because he's a gypsy, he's a gypsy who is a litter lout. That is something I try to get over.

"This life is not a right, it's a privilege to live this kind of life and if people have a right they also have a responsibility. We are guests in another person's village, we don't belong here but if we act and behave responsibly then we are made to feel welcome."

Moses feels the law surrounding travellers and gypsies is too complex and the police often fail to use the powers under the Criminal Justice Act where they disperse large encampments.

He is also critical that there is not a level playing field for everyone.

"I spent four months battling it out with the agencies to be allowed to take out rubbish to the local tip. Because I didn't have an address I was banned. I did get one in the end but it took us forever.

"I actually think we have come to a stage where we have got to have an ID system.

"The cards could tell people such things as whether or not we have an MOT and what benefits we are claiming. We can pay a poll tax and when we move on the relevant local authority can claim a certain amount for each day we stay, that way we become an asset to them."

Moses also feels that gypsies and travellers should be fined for dropping litter, for parking illegally or without a ticket like any other member of the community would be.