THIS is the view of Nia Bailey, Dorset County Council's gypsy and traveller liaison officer.

For the last four years she has been responsible for dealing with encampments in Christchurch and rural Dorset.

There are currently four permanent residency sites for travellers in rural Dorset: at Coldharbour near Wareham, Piddlehinton near Dorchester, Thornicombe near Blandford and a small site at Shaftesbury. Those gypsies living there stay throughout the year, leaving for short periods but always returning.

The issue of travellers setting up home on unauthorised sites is constantly highlighted and often causes bad feeling among permanent residents and landowners.

One of the worst invasions in Dorset in recent years was in December 2001 when a large number of travellers descended on King's Park, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The mess left behind was quite shocking and upset a lot of local residents.

But Miss Bailey says incidents like this can often be sparked by how travellers have been treated in the past.

"The travellers know that they are not being tolerated at all in certain areas across the country so they will arrive in large numbers for safety. If they get zero tolerance in these areas they will respond to people in that way and leave the mess when they go. It is a rebellion."

She added: "It is human nature if you are treated like an animal you react like an animal. Travelling communities have received this kind of treatment for years. Some of it has been justified with a select few leaving a mess but the majority clean up after themselves."

Miss Bailey says travellers and gypsies are often subjected to vigilante attacks and verbal abuse from members of the public.

"People should give them the benefit of the doubt until they are proved wrong," she added.

"These people do work. They do provide a service, whether people use this service or not it is up to them. Quite a few of the travellers don't claim benefits. Yes, they don't pay rent, but they don't receive any services either.

"What these people do with their lives is magnified because they are out in the open. It is almost like they are living in a glass fish bowl - we can see their every move. People living in housing don't live like that - if they don't pay their bills no one knows."

Local authorities in Dorset and Dorset Police work together in partnership to ensure a consistent and balanced approach is taken in responding to unauthorised encampments.

Miss Bailey said: "We will go out and communicate with the travellers and try and build up a relationship or rapport with them to find out a bit about them.

"If the encampment is somewhere particularly contentious we will ask them to leave immediately. If it's somewhere we feel it could be tolerated for a couple of days or a week we can come to some sort of arrangement."

Miss Bailey added: "It really is a matter of trying to educate people, for them to see travellers in a different light.

"It is no mean feat, it's going to take a long time to break down barriers and to gain trust."